Background information and definitions Polarization and polarizability Refractive index
Water and microwaves Complex dielectric permittivity Dielectric spectroscopy
The electric dipole moment (μ) of a molecule is directed from the center of negative charge (-q) to the center of positive charge (+q) distance r away. The units are usually given in Debye (= 3.336 x 10-30 A s m).
μ = qr
In liquid water, molecules possess a distribution of dipole moments (range ~1.9 - 3.1 D) due to the variety of hydrogen bonded environments.
If two charges q1 and q2 are separated by distance r, the (Coulomb) potential energy is V (joule)
where ε0 is the permittivity of a vacuum (= 8.854 x 10-12 C2 J-1 m-1; the ability of a material to store electrostatic energy).
In a medium it is lower
where ε is the medium's permittivity.
The dielectric constant (εr) of the medium (also known as the relative permittivity) is defined as
and clearly approaches unity in the dilute gas state. In liquid
water, it is proportional to the mean-square fluctuation in the
total dipole moment. In liquid water, the dielectric
constant is high and there is a linear correlation between it
and the number of hydrogen bonds [239]. [Back to Top 
]
The polarization (P) of a substance is its electric dipole moment density (see also). The charge density vector (D) is the sum of the effect of the applied field and the polarization.
D = ε0E + P
But as
D = εE
P = (εr - 1)ε0E
The dielectric constant (εr) is related to the molar polarization of the medium (Pm) using the Debye equation
where ρ is the mass density (kg m-3), M is the molar mass (kg). At high dielectric constant, such as water, the left hand side of the above equation approximates to unity and the molar polarization (calculated from equation(1) below = 181.5x10-6 m3 at 25°C) should approximate to the molar volume (18.0685x10-6 m3 at 25°C) but it clearly does not in the case of water. The molar polarization of the medium (Pm) is defined as
(1)
where α is the polarizability of the molecules, which is the proportionality constant between the induced dipole moment μ* and the field strength E (μ* = αE), NA is the Avogadro number, Mk is the Boltzmann constant (=R/NA), T is the absolute temperature and μ is permanent dipole moment. Unfortunately, in line with many other anomalies of water, this equation is not a good predictor for the behavior of water, which shows a minimum molar polarization at about 15°C. The term in (εr + 2) comes from the relationship between the local field (E') and the applied field (E).
E' = (E/3)(εr + 2)
The polarizability (α) may be given as the polarizability volume (α´) where
The second term in equation (1) is due to the contribution from the permanent dipole moment, which is negligible when the medium is non-polar or when the frequency of the applied field is sufficiently high that the molecules do not have time to change orientation. In this case the Clausius-Mossotti equation holds (but again not for water):
[Back to Top ]
The refractive index (ηr) in the visible and ultraviolet is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum (c) to that in the medium (c´); ηr = c/c´. It is also related to the relative permittivity (εr), the absorption coefficient (α) and wavelength (λ) [177].
This reduces to ε∞ = ηr2 where ε∞ is the relative permittivity at visible frequencies (4x1014 - 8x1014 Hz, ηr ~ 1.34) and εS = ηr2 where εS is the relative permittivity
at low frequencies (static region; < 109 Hz, ηr ~ 9). It also follows that, as the temperature is raised, εr tends towards ηr2 [423]. [Back to Top ]
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This page was last updated by Martin Chaplin on 25 June, 2008
