Materials Measurement Phil Bartley Shelley Begley

Consider Dipole RotationRandom OrientationJust as an example, consider the molecular structure of water. Iapologize to all chemists for the cartoon depiction of this simplemolecule. It does, however, serve to illustrate the concept of amaterial’s dielectric properties. The water molecule consists oftwo hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. While the molecule iselectrically neutral it’s charge distribution is not constant over itsvolume. Because of its bonding mechanism, the hydrogen side ofthe molecule is more positive that the oxygen side. In theabsence of any forces other than thermal energy, a group ofwater molecules will take on a random orientation as depicted.14