Abstract
In this chapter we discuss the electric properties of the insulators, or dielectrics, as these materials are also called. There are no free charge carriers in dielectrics, which consequently do not conduct electricity. However, dielectrics react in response to an electric field. We introduce the concept of the dielectric constant, find the differential equations of the electric field for normal dielectrics, and solve those equations. We give a microscopic interpretation of the described phenomena. We discuss the electrostatic energy in the presence of a dielectric medium.
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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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Bettini, A. (2016). Dielectrics. In: A Course in Classical Physics 3 — Electromagnetism. Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40871-2_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40871-2_4
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40870-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40871-2
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