Heat dissipated from electric field

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around understanding a specific equality related to heat dissipation in a dielectric material, as presented in a research paper. The subject area includes concepts from electromagnetism, particularly focusing on electric fields and their interaction with materials.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to understand the relationship between the current density and the electric field, particularly how the conductivity is incorporated into the expression. Questions are raised about the dot product of complex vector expressions and the transition between the left-hand side and right-hand side of the equation.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided insights into the physical meaning of the equation, suggesting it relates to power loss in dielectrics and the role of complex permittivity. However, there is still uncertainty regarding the mathematical derivation and how to manipulate the expressions involved.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the complexity of the permittivity and its implications for understanding losses, indicating that assumptions about the nature of the materials and their properties are under discussion.

capandbells
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This isn't a homework problem, but I'm having trouble understanding the following equality in a paper I'm reading

Homework Statement


Homework Equations



[tex] \left<\mathbf{j}(\mathbf{r},t)\cdot\mathbf{E}(\mathbf{r},t)\right>_t = - \frac{1}{2}\mathrm{Re}\left[i\omega\frac{\epsilon(\mathbf{r}) - 1}{4\pi}\mathbf{E_0}(\mathbf{r})\mathbf{E_0^*}(\mathbf{r}) \right][/tex]
where
[tex] \mathbf{E}(\mathbf{r},t) = \mathrm{Re}\left[\mathbf{E_0}(\mathbf{r})e^{-i\omega t}\right][/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution


I understand that
[tex] \mathbf{j}(\mathbf{r},t) = \sigma \mathbf{E}(\mathbf{r},t) = i\omega\frac{\epsilon(\mathbf{r}) - 1}{4\pi}\mathbf{E}(\mathbf{r},t)[/tex]
but I'm 100% sure how to get from there to the other expression. Mostly I'm confused about how the conductivity gets inside the Re operator. I'm pretty confused in general about how to take the dot product of such a complicated vector expression.
 
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You're looking at an expression for the amount of power that is heating a dielectric. Since the power is lost to heat, you can define an equivalent ohmic loss, hence the sigma. It's important to note that the permittivity has to be complex as well, and it's the imaginary component that will end up representing a loss.
 
Antiphon said:
You're looking at an expression for the amount of power that is heating a dielectric. Since the power is lost to heat, you can define an equivalent ohmic loss, hence the sigma. It's important to note that the permittivity has to be complex as well, and it's the imaginary component that will end up representing a loss.

I understand that, but I don't know how to get from the LHS in that first equation to the RHS.
 
The j is the time derivative of the polarization vector dP/dt.

If I have time I'll try to do a derivation.
 

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