Theoretical and experimental basis for the super dielectric model of dielectric materials

Abstract

Two theories of the fields generated by charges on parallel plate capacitors, the standard model (SM) found in virtually all text books and the recently proposed super dielectric material-theory (SDM-Theory), are described, and contrasted, in terms of theory and experimentally tested predictions. Only the SDM-Theory model is found to be consistent with thermodynamics, basic field theory, and experimental results. According to the SM, dielectrics in the volume between the electrodes of a parallel plate capacitor store the energy in a capacitor in the form of greatly, relative to the no dielectric case, increased electric field strength. This model is shown to be inconsistent with path independent changes in state property (e.g., voltage), and predicts, incorrectly, that dielectric material outside the volume between the electrodes will have no effect on any measurable properties such as capacitance and energy density. In contrast, according to SDM-Theory, a theory shown to be consistent with path independent changes in state properties, as well as “conservative field theory,” the increased stored energy in the presence of dielectrics is not associated with energy in fields, but rather it is due to the “extra” charges stored on the electrodes. The extra charge is required to create a given net field in the presence of a dielectric. Indeed, according to SDM-Theory, the effect of dielectric material, because its polarization is opposite to the electrodes, reduces the net field at all points in space, including within the volume of the dielectric. This is the absolute opposite of the “action” of a dielectric predicated by the SM. In the SDM-Theory, at a given capacitor voltage, virtually identical net fields exist with and without a dielectric, but the capacitance (amount of stored charge) and stored energy, a linear function of the amount of stored charge, of the latter configuration can be many orders of magnitude greater. Moreover, SDM-Theory predicts, consistent with recent observations, that dielectric material external to the volume between electrodes should be nearly as effective at increasing capacitance, etc., as the same dielectric material between the electrodes.