Physics II / Dielectrics and Polarisation
Practice question · Match the pairs

Match each quantity to what it represents.

  • Polarisation P\mathbf{P}
  • Displacement field D\mathbf{D}
  • Susceptibility χe\chi_e
  • Relative permittivity εr\varepsilon_r
  • How strongly the medium polarises per unit field
  • Lets Gauss’s law be applied to free charge alone
  • Dipole moment per unit volume
  • The factor by which the field is weakened
Hints
  1. Two are fields and two are material response coefficients.
  2. One coefficient is the other plus one.
Show the answer
  • Polarisation P\mathbf{P} Dipole moment per unit volume
  • Displacement field D\mathbf{D} Lets Gauss’s law be applied to free charge alone
  • Susceptibility χe\chi_e How strongly the medium polarises per unit field
  • Relative permittivity εr\varepsilon_r The factor by which the field is weakened
Why

P\mathbf{P} measures the aligned dipoles, D\mathbf{D} hides them from Gauss’s law, χe\chi_e sets how readily they align, and εr=1+χe\varepsilon_r = 1 + \chi_e is the resulting field reduction.

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