The magnetic susceptibilities and specific heats of the crystalline garnet and glass forms of Mn3Al2Si3O12 are reported. This allows a direct comparison of the degree of magnetic frustration of the triangle-based garnet lattice and the structurally disordered solid at the same composition for isotropic spin 5/2 Mn^2+ (3d^5). The results show that the glass phase shows more pronounced signs of magnetic frustration than the crystalline phase. Through comparison of the specific heats of Ca3Al2Si3O12 (grossular) and Mn3Al2Si3O12 (spessartine) garnets, information is provided concerning the anomalous extra specific heat in the latter material.
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