Intermediate range chemical ordering in amorphous and liquid water, Si, and Ge

Neutron and x-ray diffraction data for low, high, and very high density amorphous ice and liquid water, silicon, and germanium have been compared in terms of the first sharp diffraction peak in the structure factor and at the radial distribution function level. The low and high density forms of H2O, Si, and Ge are shown to have very similar structures if the contributions from the hydrogen correlations in water are neglected. The very high density amorphous ice form is shown to be structurally analogous to recently reported high pressure liquid forms of Si and Ge, although there are slight differences in the way interstitial atoms or molecules are pushed into the first coordination shell.