Investigations of the Dynamics and Mechanical Dissipation of a Fused Silica Suspension

(Dated: March 13, 2002) The quality factor (Q) of a violin mode of a fiber under tension is related to the Q of the unloaded fiber by the dilution factor. We calculate this dilution factor from measurements of the Q’s and compare to measurements based on the shift of the violin mode frequencies with temperature, and to theoretical predictions. We also report supporting measurements of the temperature dependence of the Young’s modulus of fused silica. The Q’s of the violin modes are the highest yet measured in fused silica mechanical resonators.