The effect of electric and magnetic fields on the thermal conductivity of glass at low temperatures

Abstract

Measurements of the electric field dependence of the phonon scattering in vitreous silica indicate that the energy levels of the localized modes generally presumed to contribute to phonon scattering at low temperatures are independent of electric field to a high degree. The thermal conductivity of soda lime glass doped with Fe²⁺ ions in octahedral sites was found to be independent of magnetic field to a comparable degree. This provides a lower limit to the distortion at the Fe²⁺ site.