(Pr. 4) If a soft material has a dielectric response characterized by a single relaxation time τ, then the polarization P obeys the equation: dP/dt = -(1/τ)[P(t) - χsε0E(t)], where χs is the static electric susceptibility.
(a) Under an applied sinusoidal field given, in complex notation, by E(t) = E0e^(-iωt), verify by substitution that P = χε0E0e^(-iωt) satisfies the equation dP(t)/dt = -(1/τ)[P(t) - χsε0E(t)]. Show that the complex susceptibility χ obeys the Debye law χ = χs/(1-iωτ), hence calculate the real and imaginary parts of the complex susceptibility, and sketch what they look like.
(c) Apply this model to the case of water at room temperature, for which χs ≈ 80 and τ = 9.4 ps. Compute the frequency in Hz at which the imaginary part of the susceptibility is maximum. What is the real part of the susceptibility of water for quasistatic fields (low frequency)? And for high frequency? When is water polarizable by the electric field, and why? Is water a Newtonian liquid at low frequency? And at high frequency?