1/f Dielectric Fluctuations at the Glass Transition

Abstract

AbstractThe temperature and frequency dependence of thermal dielectric polarization noise was investigated in glycerol and PVC in the vicinity of their glass transitions. Polarization fluctuations were observed via voltage noise which was produced within a sample capacitance cell. The high sensitivity and accuracy of the technique provides a powerful probe of dynamics in low-loss regimes of various materials. Noise spectra had 1/fβ form at lower temperatures just below the glass transition. In glycerol, the spectral exponent decreased smoothly with temperature, extrapolating to 1, i.e. 1/f noise, near T° where relaxation times diverge. The results support the idea that a glassy phase transition occurs in the static limit.