Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

The Preparation of Electrohydrodynamic Bridges from Polar Dielectric Liquids
Published on: September 30, 2014
Dipolar correlations and the dielectric permittivity of water
Manu Sharma1, Raffaele Resta, Roberto Car
1Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.
Abstract:
The static dielectric properties of liquid and solid water are investigated within linear response theory in the context of ab initio molecular dynamics. Using maximally localized Wannier functions to treat the macroscopic polarization we formulate a first-principles, parameter-free, generalization of Kirkwood's phenomenological theory. Our calculated static permittivity is in good agreement with experiment. Two effects of the hydrogen bonds, i.e., a significant increase of the average local moment and a local alignment of the molecular dipoles, contribute in almost equal measure to the unusually large dielectric constant of water.
Related Concept Videos
Susceptibility, Permittivity and Dielectric Constant
Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor
Potential Due to a Polarized Object
Electric Dipoles and Dipole Moment
Theoretically, studying electric dipoles leads to understanding why the resultant electric forces around us are weak. Since electric forces are strong, remnant net charges are rare. Hence, the interaction between dipoles helps us understand electrical interactions in...
Induced Electric Dipoles
Since the absolute value of potential energy holds no physical meaning, its zero value can be chosen as per...
Intermolecular Forces

