What is the significance of dipoles in condensed matter physics?

[marc32123]

Question about dipoles...

What is the difference between a dipole in physics and a dipole in chemistry?

 

[Simon Bridge]

None.
Depends at what level you are doing it at though - I think physics teaches intrinsic dipoles and dipole models where the separation of charges tends to zero before chemistry does.

 

[ZapperZ]

What is the difference between a dipole in physics and a dipole in chemistry?

What brought up this question? Did you come across something that made you think that there might be a difference between the two?

Zz.

 

[marc32123]

I am just curious, I really don't know much about dipoles and just started a little research on it because I keep coming across the word in my recent research into chemistry. Same with the word polar or polarity.

 

[Simon Bridge]

Figured - the concepts can look different when you start learning about them because context is important to what gets taught.

Note: you need to be careful about attaching too much importance to semantics in science - words often have odd uses because a label got stuck sometime in history. Concentrate on the principles behind the words.

 

[dipole]

Dipoles in chemistry usually refer to polarized molecules, whereas in physics they sometimes are referring to idealized mathematical point dipoles.

However, the concept is identicle - some charge distribution which deviates from spherical symmetry.

 

[Simon Bridge]

Wow - that's creepy!
dipole wrote exactly what my first response was...

 

[ZapperZ]

Dipoles in chemistry usually refer to polarized molecules, whereas in physics they sometimes are referring to idealized mathematical point dipoles.

Note that this may be true when dealing with the idealized and simplified situation in the learning of classical E&M. However, it isn't true in general. In condensed matter physics, we certainly deal with polarized molecules, etc., both electric and magnetic. One only need to look at the concept of polarons, introduced by Landau.

Zz.