Magnetic-field effects in non-magnetic glasses

Abstract

Recently, it was found that the multi-component glass a-BaO-Al2O3-SiO2 exhibits unusual magnetic properties at very low temperatures. Thus the question arises whether this is a specialty of that particular glass or a more general phenomenon. We report here on our studies of the magnetic-field dependence of the dielectric properties of the borosilicate glass BK7 which contains only a negligible amount of magnetic impurities. Since this glass also responds sensitively to magnetic fields, our investigations demonstrate that the reaction of glasses to magnetic fields is not caused by magnetic impurities but reflects a more general phenomenon. In addition, we have observed that the variation of the dielectric constant and the loss angle with magnetic field depend on the amplitude of the electric field that is used to measure the glass capacitance. We present the data and discuss possible origins of the magnetic-field phenomena in non-magnetic glasses.