Dielectric relaxation of water adsorbed on wood

The value of the dielectric loss due to the adsorbed water was separated from that of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis Carr.) wood containing water and the enthalpy, entropy, and free energy of activation for the relaxation due to the adsorbed water were calculated as a function of the moisture content of the wood. These results showed that the relaxation of the adsorbed water and ice strikingly resembled each other. It was supposed that the relaxation resulted from the reorientation of water molecules accompanied by the cutting of the hydrogen bonds, and the changes of the enthalpy and entropy of activation for the relaxation with moisture content were associated closely with the number of hydrogen bonds broken and number of water molecules concerned with the reorientation.