Determination of dielectric constants of different materials

Sajag Kumar (2011143)1, ∗

1
School of Physical Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar 752050, India
(Dated: November 17, 2021)
In this experiment we compute dielectric constant of different materials. Computing the dielectric
constant of the material tells us very important things about the material especially its electromag-
netic properties. We also establish that the charge on a capacitor is inversely proportional to the
distance between its plates. We compute the dielectric constant for three materials air (1.25 ± 0.09),
glass (7.17 ± 0.21) and plastic (4.43 ± 0.12). The values we found in case of air lies within 4σ of
experimental value, in case of glass it is within 1σ and in case of plastic it lies beyond 5σ of the
literature value.

Due to the electric field, equal amount of electrostatic

charges with opposite sign are drawn towards the surfaces
of the capacitor. Assuming the field lines of the electric
field always to be perpendicular to the capacitor surface,
for small distances d between the capacitor plates:

Q Uc A
= . (4)
o d

The charge Q on the capacitor is thus proportional to

voltage the proportionality constant C is called the ca-
pacitance of the plate capacitor.

A
Q = CUc = o Uc . (5)
d
The linear relation between charge Q and voltage Uc
applied to the otherwise unchanged capacitor is repre-
sented in fig. 4. Eq. 5 further shows that the capaci-
FIG. 1. Fields inside a capacitor. tance C of the capacitor is inversely proportional to the
distance d between the plates and directly proportional
to the area A of the plates:
I. THEORY

Electrostatic processes in vacuum are described by the A

C = o . (6)
following integral form of Maxwell’s equations: d
With increasing distances between the capacitor
I I
Q
E.dA = , (1) plates, capacitance increases, which in turn systemati-
o
cally yields a too large electric constant. This is why the
I value of dielectric constant should be determined for a
E.dS = 0. (2) small and constant distance between the plates. Once an
insulating material (dielectrics) is inserted between the
where E is the electric field intensity, Q the charge plates the above equations are modified. Dielectrics have
enclosed by the closed surface A, o is the permittivity no free moving charge carriers, as metals have, but they
of free space and s a closed path. If a voltage Uc is do have positive nuclei and negative electrons. These
applied between two capacitor plates, an electric field E may be arranged along the lines of an applied electric
will prevail between the plates, which is defined by: field Eo . Formerly non-polar molecules get polarized and
thus behave as locally stationary dipoles. As can be seen
Z 2
in Fig. 2, the effects of the single dipoles cancel each
Uc = E.dr. (3) other macroscopically inside the dielectric. However, no
2
partners with opposite charges are present on the sur-
faces; these thus have a stationary charge, called a free
charge. The free charges in turn weaken the effective
∗ sajag.kumar@niser.ac.in electric field E as given below:
 2

II. APPARATUS

1. Set of parallel plate capacitors.

2. High voltage power supply.
3. A high resistance resistor.
4. Reference capacitor.
FIG. 2. Capacitor with dielectric inserted.

Eo
E= . (7)
r
FIG. 3. Experimental setup
Here o is the dielectric constant (relative permittivity)
of the medium which is a dimensionless, material specific
constant.(r = 1 in vacuum). If P is the polarization
vector, the induced electric field EP due to these charges
will be in opposite direction to applied electric filed:

r − 1 P FIG. 4. Circuit diagram.

EP = Eo − E = Eo = . (8)
r o

The electric displacement vector for an isotropic 5. Universal measuring amplifier.

medium is defined as:
6. Voltmeter.

D = E = o r E = o E + P. (9) 7. Plastic and glass plates.

8. Connecting cables.
where  is the electrical permittivity of the dielectric
medium. When a dielectric is inserted between the ca- 9. Adapters.
pacitor plates voltage Uc between the plates is reduced
by the dielectric constant r as compared to voltage in 10. T-connectors.
vacuum. Since the real charge stored is constant, the 11. Dryer.
capacitance will increase by a factor r :

A III. OBSERVATIONS
Cdielectric = r o . (10)
d
1. Capacitance of reference capacitor (Cref ) = 220
And we have: nF .

A 2. Area of capacitor’s plate (A) = 0.0531 m2 .

Q = r o Uc . (11)
d
3. Distance between the plates of capacitor for fixed
plate separation readings (dair ) = 0.2 cm.
We can find the dielectric constant of a medium by the
following equation: 4. Thickness of plastic sheet (dplastic ) = 1.0 cm.

1 d Q 5. Thickness of glass sheet (dglass ) = 0.6 cm.

r = . (12)
o A Uc
 3

Plastic Glass
UC (V) Vo (V) Q = V0 Cref (nAs) Vo (V) Q = V0 Cref (nAs)
500 0.549 120.78 2.002 440.44
1000 1.076 236.72 3.19 701.8
1500 1.528 336.16 4.599 1011.78
2000 1.975 434.5 5.971 1313.62
2500 2.403 528.66 6.95 1529
3000 2.954 649.88 8.89 1955.8
3500 3.364 740.08 9.85 2167
4000 3.874 852.28 10.87 2391.4

TABLE III. Q vs Uc for different dielectrics.

UC (V) Vo (V) Q = V0 Cref (nAs)

500 0.738 162.36
1000 1.223 269.06
1500 1.85 407
2000 2.387 525.14
2500 2.735 601.7
3000 3.145 691.9
3500 3.412 750.64
4000 3.79 833.8

TABLE I. Table for fixed plate separation. Air as dielectric.

d (cm) V0 (V) Q = V0 Cref (nAs)

0.1 3.45 759
0.15 2.49 547.8
0.2 1.906 419.32
0.25 1.664 366.08
0.3 1.359 298.98
0.35 1.214 267.08
0.4 1.05 231

TABLE II. Data for varying plate distance.

IV. DATA ANALYSIS

Q (in nAs)

800

700

900 600
Q (in nAs)

Recorded Data
800
Fitted Line 500

700
400 Recorded Data
600 Fitted Line

300
500

400 200
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 (in cm-1)
300 d

200
1
100
FIG. 6. Plot of d
vs Q. Slope of the curve (sr ) = 69.89 ± 1.84
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
Uc (in volts) FV.

FIG. 5. Plot of Uc vs Q with air as dielctric. Slope of the

curve (sa ir) = 0.19 ± 0.009 nF.
 4

A. Errors [3]
Q (in nAs)
2500
Recorded Data
Fitted Line
For o :
2000

d
1500
δo = δsr (17)
A

1000

δo = ±0.27 × 10−12 F m−1 . (18)

500 For all r ’s the error is given by:
500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 r
Uc (in volts)
δr δs δo
= + (19)
r s o
FIG. 7. Plot of Uc vs Q with glass as dielctric. Slope of the
curve (sair ) = 0.57 ± 0.014 nF. where, s is the slope of the Q vs Uc curve for the respec-
tive dielectric material.
We have:

δ(r )air = ±0.09 (20)

Q (in nAs)

900
Recorded Data
800 Fitted Line δ(r )glass = ±0.21 (21)
700
δ(r )plastic = ±0.12 (22)
600
. (23)
500

400

300
V. RESULTS
200

100

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

1. (r )air = 1.25 ± 0.09.
Uc (in volts)

2. (r )glass = 7.17 ± 0.21.

FIG. 8. Plot of Uc vs Q with plastic as dielctric. Slope of the
curve (splastic ) = 0.20 ± 0.002 nF. 3. (r )plastic = 4.43 ± 0.12.

From FIG. 6 we have:

VI. CONCLUSION
o = 8.77 × 10−12 F m−1 . (13)
Dielectric constants for air, glass and plastic were com-
From FIG. 5 we have: puted and also the linear relationship between the charge
on a capacitor and the inverse of distance between them
(r )air = 1.25. (14)
was established. The value for air lies within 4σ of the
From FIG. 7 we have: literature value, for glass the value lies within 1σ of the
literature value and for plastic the value lies beyond 5σ of
(r )glass = 7.17. (15) the literature value. The errors may be due to moisture
between the capacitor plates. Systematic errors creep in
From FIG. 8 we have: as well. Also some residual charge remains on the ex-
perimental capacitor when we transfer its charge to the
(r )plastic = 4.43. (16) reference capacitor.

[1] D. J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd ed. Bhubaneswar.

(Prentice Hall, 1999). [3] J. R. Taylor, An Introduction to Error Analysis, 2nd ed.
[2] Determination of dielectric constants of different materi- (University Science Books, 1997).
als, National Institute of Science Education and Research