3: Dipoles and Dielectrics
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In contrast to conductors, the motion of charges in dielectrics is restricted to the atom/molecule interiors, so that the electric polarization of these materials by an external field takes a different form. This issue is the main subject of this chapter, but in preparation for its analysis, we have to start with a general discussion of the electric field induced by a spatially-restricted system of charges.
- 3.3: Polarization of Dielectrics
- The general relations derived in the previous section may be used to describe the electrostatics of any dielectrics – materials with bound electric charges (and hence with negligible dc electric conduction). However, to form a full system of equations necessary to solve electrostatics problems, they have to be complemented by certain constitutive relations between the vectors P and E.
Thumbnail: The electric field lines and equipotential lines for field of two point charges. (CC BY-SA 3.0; Geek3 via Wikipedia).