Dielectric and mechanical relaxation in solids, characterised by non-exponential, extended relaxation spectra, is analysed taking the interaction of the phonon (boson) field with the relaxing elements in the solid explicitly into account. Combination of Einstein's rate equations with Bothe's analysis of boson clustering results in a second order non-linear rate equation for the relaxing elements.The character of the solutions of this equation is governed by the strength and frequency dependence of the interaction of the phonons with the relaxing elements. The upper frequency limit is the Debye cutoff frequency while the lower frequency limit is determined by grain boundaries or the like.Relaxations extending over four decades of time are obtained using physically realistic parameters.Fourier transformation produces a 1/f spectrum over a correspondingly wide frequency range. These results are compatible with experimental results concerning stress relaxation in solids and with the "universal dielectric response" of dipoles in condensed matter.Brought to you by | Purdue University Libraries Authenticated Download Date | 5/27/15 2:19 PM well illustrated in Li plots. This is a consequence of the fact that the phonon spectra of the solids can vary somewhat as well as can the details of how the applied mechanical stress moves the relaxing elements to their excited states.Finally, we have shown that the results obtained here are compatible with results obtained by Ngai, Jonscher and Kubät, among others.