Internal friction of alkaline-earth-iron-metaphosphate glasses

The internal frictions of Mg, Ca, Ba iron-metaphosphate glasses were studied from 120 to 700 K using the low-frequency torsion pendulum technique. The internal friction as a function of temperature revealed two distinct peaks. The low-temperature peak was absent in glass without iron oxide. Its activation energy compared favourably with that for dielectric loss and dc conductivity in similar glasses. This suggests the same mechanism for all three processes, probably connected with electron transfer between iron ions of different valence.