Re: [Phys-l] permittivity vs dielectric

[brian whatcott <betwys1@sbcglobal.net>]

On 12/22/2011 9:59 AM, Paul Lulai wrote:
> Hello.
> How is the permittivity value of some none free space material different from that same materials dielectric constant value?
> I'm thinking about capacities, and the dieletric value is included when calculating capacitance with the dimensions of the capacitor, so the dielectric constant doesn't seem to depend on the materials dimensions.
> I wonder if they are proportional to each other (for a given material), and could be thought of as being the same property.
> Thanks for your help.
>
> P.s. this them brings up a similar question for permiability values.
>
> Thanks for your help.
> Happy holidays.
>
> Paul.
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The relative /permittivity/ of a material for a frequency of zero is 
known as its static relative /permittivity or/ as its /dielectric constant.
The wiki article in question mentions the fuzziness of the "Dielectric 
Constant" label on account of its former connotation of  "absolute 
(rather than relative)  dielectric constant".
This is  a fuzziness that it shares with other labels that entered the 
lexicon from early investigations in Statics, it seems to me.

Brian W
/