The mechanism of dielectric loss in paraffin wax solutions at high radio frequencies

Abstract

One of the desirable properties of insulating materials is freedom from energy loss in alternating electric fields, and several theories of dielectric absorption have been developed to account for the loss which invariably occurs in practice. These theories are based on the postulation that either free ions or molecular dipoles are present in the dielectric. In each case, however, the theory leads to the same form of variation of the power loss per cycle and of the dielectric constant with frequency and temperature, and unless, therefore, the constitution of the material studied is known, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish the particular mechanism in operation. Lack of this knowledge has been responsible for many unconvincing attempts to correlate experi­mental results with dielectric theory. The composition of simple dielectric liquids can be specified precisely and varied in known manner without difficulty, and, under the stimulus of Debye’s work on polar molecules, knowledge of the behaviour of such media has advanced enormously in recent years. As yet, however, little progress has been made towards relating the properties of solid dielectrics to their chemical and physical constitution. The extent to which the Debye theory in its present form is applicable to these media remains therefore uncertain.