Transparent Materials Comparison

Glass is an amorphous solid which means its atoms are randomly oriented. Whereas, a crystalline material may contain the exact same type and quantity of atoms as glass, but the atoms are ordered in rigid, well-defined patterns. Fused quartz glass vs. crystalline quartz is a good example of the same type of atoms (SiO2) structured in such a way that one orientation forms a glass and another forms a crystal.