# Dielectric constant

This may seem like a dumb question, but is a dielectric constant calculated from a measured capacitance normalized to thickness and electrode area, I’m having a brain fart.

dlgoff
Gold Member
I'm in a bit of a hurry right now but here are some links.

The dielectric constant k is the relative permittivity of a dielectric material. It is an important parameter in characterizing capacitors. It is unfortunate that the same symbol k is often used for Coulomb's constant, so one must be careful of this possible confusion. It is more typical of physics texts to use the form 1/4πε0 for Coulomb's constant.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/diel.html" [Broken]

In electromagnetism, permittivity is the measure of the resistance that is encountered when forming an electric field in a medium. In other words, permittivity is a measure of how an electric field affects, and is affected by, a dielectric medium. Permittivity is determined by the ability of a material to polarize in response to the field, and thereby reduce the total electric field inside the material. Thus, permittivity relates to a material's ability to transmit (or "permit") an electric field.

The permittivity of a medium describes how much electric field (more correctly, flux) is 'generated' per unit charge. Less electric flux exists in a medium with a high permittivity (per unit charge) due to polarization effects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permittivity" [Broken]

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tiny-tim
Homework Helper
Welcome to PF!

Hi CNC! Welcome to PF!

From http://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedia/Measure_dielectric.cfm" [Broken] …
There are many ways to measure dielectric constant of a material or effective dielectric constant of a media. You can actually make a career out of this measurement, once you know all the nuances and practice a bit. …

Before we attempt describe any methods in various amounts of detail, let's first point out that 1. dielectric constant can vary with frequency (but usually not a lot) and 2. the measurement techniques can be fraught with errors, which we'll try to explain.

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