Dielectric Constants of Solids at High Frequencies and the Influence of Water of Crystallization on Dielectric Constant

The determination of the dielectric constant of one constituent of a mixture, when the dielectric constants of the other component and the mixture itself are known, has been a problem which has been given much attention for many years. The familiar Clausius-Mossotti relationship for the dielectric constant of any substance is: e-1/(e + 2) d = A, where e is the dielectric constant of the substance, d the density, and A a constant depending upon the polarizability of the molecule. This relation was developed independently by Clausius, Mossotti, Lorenz, Lorentz, Rayleigh, and Debye; but even in the case of pure liquids deviations well outside the experimental error have been found.