On the measurement of the dielectric constants of liquids, with a determination of the dielectric constant of benzene

Abstract

It has long been recognised that the dielectric constant of a substance gives an important indication of its constitution, and the classical papers of Nernst and Drude giving methods for the determination of dielectric constants, have been followed by a long series of papers giving the dielectric constants of several hundreds of pure liquids and solutions. Since the publication of Debye’s dipole theory in 1912, the literature of the subject has become even more voluminous than before. In surveying the mass of data one is struck by the very large discrepancies which exist in the values obtained by different observers for any one substance, and it is very difficult to decide whether they are due to the difficulty of pre­paring and purifying the substance, differences in experimental conditions such as frequency of the applied E. M. F., or errors in the methods of measure­ment. In order to make it possible to compare the results of different observers, and to provide a fundamental basis for new measurements, it is important that the value of at least one standard liquid should be known with unquestion­able accuracy. The object of the present investigation was to provide such a value. Benzene was chosen as the standard liquid since it has been very widely used in the past, and it is used as a standard in the measurement of other physical properties.