Introductio

Dielectrics are n
the materials having electric dipole
moment permanently.

Dipole: A dipole is an entity in which equal positive

and negative charges are separated by a small
distance..

DIPOLE moment (Ele ):The product of magnitude of

either of the charges and separation distance b/w
them is called Dipole moment.
e = q . x coulmb.m
q
-q
X
All dielectrics are electrical insulators and they are
mainly used to store electrical energy.
Ex: Mica, glass, plastic, water & polar
molecules

dipole
_

Electric field

+
+
+

_
_

_
+

+
+

_
_

Dielectric atom

The relative permittivity(r) is often known as

dielectric const. of medium it can given by,
r=/0
Dielectric constant is ratio of permittivity of
medium to permittivity of free space.
The value of capacitance of capacitor is given by,
C0=r0A/d
By this eqn we can say that high r increases
capacity of capacitor.

Polar and Nonpolarized Molec

Non-polar Molecules : The Dielectric material in
which there is no permanent dipole existence in absence
of an external field is ..
O=O
2

N N Cl-Cl

F-F Br-Br

I-I

Compounds made of molecules which are symmetrically

carbon dioxide
O=C=O

methane CH4

carbon tetra fluoride CCl4,

propane
C3H8
carbon tetra fluoride CF4

Polar Molecules The Dielectric material in which

there is permanent dipole existence even in absence of
an external field is ..
HCl
hydrogen chloride

carbon monoxide
C
O

2 molecules with O, N, or OH at one end asymmetrical

e.g.; CH2Cl2,CH3Cl

water
H2O

unbounded electron pairs

bend the molecule

ammonia
nitrogen trihydride
NH3

alcohols
methanol
CH3OH

Identify each of the following molecules as

1) polar or 2) nonpolarized. Explain.
A.

PBr3

B.
C.

HBr
Br2

D.

SiBr4

Identify each of the following molecules as

1) polar or 2) nonpolarized. Explain.
A.

PBr3

1) pyramidal; dipoles dont cancel; polar

B.

HBr

1) linear; one polar bond (dipole); polar

C.

Br2

2) linear; nonpolarized bond; nonpolarized

D.

SiBr4

2) tetrahedral; dipoles cancel; no polar

As shown in fig. when an electric

field is applied to dielectric
material their negative & positive
charges tend to align in
equilibrium position.

They produce electric dipole inside the material.

This phenomenon is known as Polarization.

It can be represented by, P

V
P=polarization
= dipole moment
V=Volume
Unit=Cm-2
Now dipole moment depends upon applied electric field.

ur ur
E
ur ur
P E
ur
ur
P E

polarizability of material.

+
q
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

E0

-----

q
------------

++
-+
+
+
-q
q
++
-+
+
-++
-++
E-0
++
-+
+
-++
-++
-++
--

+
+
+
+
+
+
q
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

In absence of
dielectric

In presence of
dielectric

0
E.ds q

0
E
.
ds

q
'

q
E0 A
0

q q'
EA
0 0

q
E0
A 0

q
q'
E

A 0 A 0

V=Ed
So
E

V0
k
E Vd
0

Now

E0
q
E

k
kA 0
q
q'
E

A 0
A 0
q
q
q'
So,

kA 0
A 0
A 0
1
then, q ' q (1 )
k

So, 0
E
.
ds

q
'

1
q q (1 )
k
q

0k
E
.
ds

This relation true is for parallel plate capacitor

Which is Gausss law for dielectrics

The resultant dielectric field is given by,

q
q'
E

A 0
A 0
q'
now,
p P
A
q
P

E
A 0
0

Where,
E=Electric field
q

0E P
D=Flux Density
or
A
Displacement vector
q
now, D
P=Polarization
A
So, D 0 E P

Electric susceptibility:
The polarization vector P is proportional
to the total electric flux density and
direction of electric field.
Therefore the polarization vector can
be written
P 0 e E

P
e
0E

0 ( r 1) E

0E
e r 1

Displacement vector,

D 0E P
Now,P= 0 E
( - 0 ) E P
(or) ( r . 0 - 0 ) E P
( r 1) 0 .E P
Where,( r 1)

1.
2.
3.
4.

Electron polarization
Ionic polarization
Orientation polarization
Space charge polarization

When no external field is applied nucleus of

atom is like in fig. (a)
When external field is applied, displacement
in opposite direction is observed between
nucleus & electrons due to this dipole
moment is induced.
This type of polarization is called Electronic
polarization.
Ex. Germanium, Silicon, Diamond etc

+
-

(a)

Electric Field

(b)
19

Some materials like ionic crystal does not

possess permanent dipole moment.
Fig. (a) shows natural arrangement of ionic
crystal. When Ele. Field is applied on this
type of material displacement of ions is
observed.
Due to an external electric field a positive &
negative ion displaces in the direction
opposite to each other due to which
distance between them is reduced & ionic
polarization is generated.
Ionic polarization is observed in materials
like NaCl, KBr, KCl etc

Let us consider simple example of NaCl

crystal.
As shown in fig. when crystal is placed in
an external electric field Na+ ion displaces in
one direction & Cl- ion goes in opposite
direction.

Some molecules like H2O, HCl having permanent dipole

moment p0.
In the absence of a field, individual dipoles are
arranged in random way, so net average dipole
moment in a unit volume is zero as shown in fig. (b).
A dipole such as HCl placed in a field experiences a
torque that tries to rotate it to align p0 with the field E.

In the presence of an applied field, the

dipoles try to rotate to align parallel to
each other in direction of electric field fig
(d).
This type of polarization is Orientation
polarization.
This type of polarization occurs only in
polar substances like H2O, CH3Cl when they
are placed in external field.

A crystal with equal number of mobile

positive ions and fixed negative ions.
In the absence of a field, there is no net
separation between all the positive
charges and all the negative charges.

In the presence of an applied field,

the mobile positive ions migrate
toward the negative charges and
positive charges in the dielectric.
The dielectric therefore exhibits
Space charge or interfacial
polarization.

dW F .dr
F ?
dW qE.dr
dW E.dp
p
p
P

lA V

p PV
dW EVdP
P ( r 1) 0 .E
dW E.V .( r 1) 0 .dE

dW E.V .(

1) 0 .dE

1
W 0V ( r 1) E 2
2
W 1
2
0 ( r 1) E
V
2
U ?

References:
Engineering physics By Dr. M N Avadhnulu, S Chand
publication
Engineering physics by K Rajgopalan
http://web.mit.edu/viz/EM/visualizations/coursenote
s/modules/guide05.pdf