The Distribution of Relaxation Times in Typical Dielectrics

K. W. Wagner's treatment of the distribution of relaxation times in dielectrics is reviewed; the effect of the density of distribution upon the frequency variation of the dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor is discussed; and a graphical method of evaluating the constants of Wagner's equation from experimental data is described. These constants have been evaluated for a number of typical dielectrics, and the frequency variations of the dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor as computed from Wagner's equations and from the simple equations for a single relaxation time are compared with the observed behavior. The quantitative correlation obtained between Wagner's equations and the experimental data investigated is viewed as a confirmation of Wagner's theory of a statistical distribution of relaxation times in dielectrics.