5.17: Polarization and Susceptibility
- Page ID
- 6025
When an insulating material is placed in an electric field, it becomes polarized, either by rotation of molecules with pre-existing dipole moments or by induction of dipole moments in the individual molecules. Inside the material, \(D\) is then greater than \(\epsilon_0 E\). Indeed,
\[D=\epsilon_0E+P\label{5.17.1}\]
The excess, \(P\), of \(D\) over \(\epsilon_0 E\) is called the polarization of the medium. It is dimensionally similar to, and expressed in the same units as, \(D\); that is to say \(\text{C m}^{-2}\). Another way of looking at the polarization of a medium is that it is the dipole moment per unit volume.
In vector form, the relation is
\[\textbf{D}=\epsilon_0\textbf{E}+\textbf{P}.\label{5.17.2}\]
If the medium is isotropic, all three vectors are parallel.
Some media are more susceptible to becoming polarized in a polarizing field than others, and the ratio of \(P\)to \(\epsilon_0 E\) is called the electric susceptibility \(\chi_e\) of the medium:
\[P=\chi_e \epsilon_0E.\label{5.17.3}\]
This implies that \(P\) is linearly proportional to \(E\) but only if \(\chi_e\) is independent of \(E\), which is by no means always the case, but is good for small polarizations.
When we combine Equations \ref{5.17.1} and \ref{5.17.3} with \(D = \epsilon E\) and with \(\epsilon_r = \epsilon / \epsilon_0\), the relative permittivity or dielectric constant, we obtain
\[\chi_e = \epsilon_r -1.\label{5.17.4}\]