Open AccessThe measurement of dielectric constants by the oscillations of ellipsoids and cylinders in a field of force
Author(s) -
W.M. Thornton
Publication year - 1909
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series a, containing papers of a mathematical and physical character
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9150
pISSN - 0950-1207
DOI - 10.1098/rspa.1909.0048
Subject(s) - dielectric , ellipsoid , materials science , amplitude , transformer , field (mathematics) , mechanics , voltage , optics , condensed matter physics , physics , mathematics , optoelectronics , quantum mechanics , astronomy , pure mathematics
1. This paper deals with the measurement of dielectric constants by a method which, though simple, does not appear to have been previously employed in the same form. Ellipsoids and cylinders accurately cut from crystals and other insulating material are suspended between flat plates connected to an alternating transformer supplying a sinuous electrification of 1500 to 2000 volts amplitude, and the period of small swings of the suspended rod or ellipsoid, with and without the field, is observed. From these measurements the dielectric constant can be found. The method is capable of a high order of accuracy, and the results obtained agree closely with the best of previous determinations, especially those made by Hopkinson for different varieties of glass. It also lends itself to work with liquids, and some examination can be made of the polarisation of dielectrics in a unidirectional field.