The general law of electrical conduction in dielectrics

Abstract

An account of a series of experiments on the behaviour of a specimen of quartz cut perpendicular to the optical axis, performed by me, has been given in two papers entitled “Some Experiments on the Properties of Dielectrics,” and “The Flow of Electricity through Dielectrics,” published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ A, vol. 92 (1915). In these papers I showed that if one surface of the specimen (in the form of a thin disc of area S and thickness d , silvered on both sides) be connected to the earth, and the other surface be maintained at a potential V for a time T, then the total charge accumulated in the dielectric can be represented by:— (K + K´ r ) CV, Where K = the specific inductive instantaneous capacity of the specimen, K' r = the maximum value of the specific inductive residual capacity of the specimen, and C = S/4π d . If the surface at potential V be now connected to the earth, then at any subsequent time t (greater than τ) the charge remaining in the dielectric can be represented by:— K´ t CV, Where K' t = the specific inductive residual capacity of the specimen, = n K' r ε ∝-∝ ( t-r ), and n = a constant for the given specimen. ∝ = a function of T (the time of charging). x = a function of both T and t .