UNIVERSAL DIELECTRIC RESPONSE: A REVIEW OF DATA AND THEIR NEW INTERPRETATION.

The behavior of materials under transient or alternating fields, i. e. , their dielectric response, forms the subject of this paper. The dielectric response may be characterized in one of two basically equivalent ways: (1) as the time dependence of the polarization or of the polarizing current under step-function excitation, or (2) as the frequency dependence of polarization under alternating field excitation. Low-frequency dielectric processes are dealt with here. An empirical classification is given of the principal types of dielectric responses with a view of facilitating a rapid appraisal of a wide range of results that may, at first glance, appear to be completely unconnected. The actual experimental data are then discussed in the light of this classification.