Direct measurement of the surface dynamics of supercooled liquid-glycerol by optical scanning a film

The surface dynamics of supercooled liquid-glycerol is studied by scanning the thickness of the glycerol film with single photon detection. Measurements are performed at room temperature well above the glycerol's glass transition temperature. It is shown that the surface dynamics of the glycerol film is very sensitive to the temperature. The linear relationship between the thickness of the film and the viscosity predicted by the Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann–Hesse (VFTH) law is also presented experimentally.