Dielectric properties of glasses

It is known that the electrical conductivity of most inorganic glasses is electrolytic in nature and generally determined by its alkali metal content. It has been shown¹ from simple assumptions of elasticity and of ionic crystal theory that the Na⁺ ion has the highest conductivity in glasses, and all observations indicate this. The high mobility of the alkali metal ion is also shown in the high dielectric losses of glasses which contain such ions. Stevels² and Sutton³ have excellent reviews of the electrical properties of glasses.