Dielectric constant of Water

Introduction

Dielectrics materials plays a major role while studying Solid State Physics.

Solid-state physics is a branch of physics that describes the physical properties of matter in a solid or solid state. Initially, the field was considered a branch of metals, and later, it expanded into a field of study of all types of solids. This field of science is at the forefront of today’s modern science and technology. The sector is particularly important in electronics, integrated circuit design, and the development of various sensitive instruments. Matter can be found in three states. They are the gaseous state, solid state, and liquid state. Atoms or ions or molecules combine to form a substance. A substance is a solid, liquid, or gas depending on the atomic distance, shape, and force exerted on each other by these substances.

Dielectric Materials

Materials with constant electrical dipoles are called dielectric materials.
A material is said to be dielectric if it has the property of forming a large number of induced electric dipoles when an electric field is applied to it.
Also, this material is devoid of free electrons. The behaviour of this material changes due to the action of the electric field.
Mostly these materials are used to store electrical energy. All electrically conductive materials can be insulators. But not all insulators are necessarily dielectric materials.
A dielectric material is a non-metallic material with high electrical resistivity and anti-thermal resistivity. Dielectric materials play a very important role in electronic devices.
The main characteristic of dielectric material is that when an electric field is applied, the material becomes polarized.

Explore our latest online courses and learn new skills at your own pace. Enroll and become a certified expert to boost your career.

Fundamental Definitions in Dielectric

Electric Dipole

An electric dipole is a system of two charges of equal and opposite signs that are spaced apart from each other.

Dipole Moment (μ)

DipoleMoment=charge×distancebetweenthetwochargesDipoleMoment=charge×distancebetweenthetwocharges

Its unit is a coulomb meter.

μ=qdcoloumbmeterμ=qdcoloumbmeter

μ=DipoleMomentμ=DipoleMoment

q=chargeq=charge

d=Distancebetweenthetwochargesd=Distancebetweenthetwocharges

Permittivity(ε)

The dielectric property of a medium is defined as its permittivity. It indicates the polarization nature of an object. Its unit is faradmeter−1faradmeter−1

For example, the value of permittivity of the vacuum is ε0=8.854×10−12F/mε0=8.854×10−12F/m

Electric polarization

The displacement of the positive charge in the direction of the electric field and displacement of negative charges in the opposite direction creates a dipole in an object.

Therefore, when an electric field is applied, the phenomenon of the formation of dipoles is known as polarization.

It depends on the frequency of the applied electric field and the temperature.

What is a Dielectric Constant?

The dielectric constant is the ratio between the permittivity of a medium and the permittivity of a vacuum. The dielectric property of a material can be known by this value. There is no unit for this value.

εr=εε0=CC0εr=εε0=CC0

εε =the permittivity of a medium

ε0ε0 =the permittivity of vacuum

CC= the capacitance of parallel plate capacitor filled with dielectric

C0C0 =the capacitance of parallel plate capacitor filled with dielectric in vacuum

The dielectric constant is a property that measures the electric polarization of a dielectric material.

εr=E0E0−Epεr=E0E0−Ep

E0E0 =applied electric field

EpEp =polarised electric field

If there is more polarization in a material then EpEp will be more. So εrεr will be higher in that case.