Long-term deformation at room temperature observed in fused silica

Opt Express. 2010 Mar 1;18(5):5114-23. doi: 10.1364/OE.18.005114.

Abstract

Cases of long-term deformation of fused silica flats are reported. The phenomenon is detected at the scale of the nanometer, and exhibits a time constant of the order of 9 years. The observed deformation appears related to gravity and constraints, but a change of physical properties locally resulting in non-homothetic behavior is also hypothesized.