Capacitors: why is the dielectric constant defined the way it is?

iScience · Sep 6, 2013

usually when we have some initial variable U(0), and we have some factor K that changes this initial variable, we usually express the new variable U(f) like so..

U(f)=KU(0)

and NOT the other way around...

so why is the dielectric constant expressed in the following way?

Eκ=E₀

this doesn't make any sense to me

Simon Bridge · Sep 6, 2013

Because it is not defined off the electric field - but off the permittivity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_permittivity

Capacitors: why is the dielectric constant defined the way it is?

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