Derivation of Clausius
and Local Field
Equations
by
Mostafa Hafez
Local Field Equation Derivation
Consider a dielectric with a spherical cavity as shown in fig.
For the point O, electric field comes from four sources:
1. Free charges Qfree on the electrodes, represented by
Eo.
2. Polarization charges on the plate surfaces A,
represented by Edep.
3. Polarization charges on the inner surface of the
spherical cavity S, represented
1. by ES.
4. Individual dipoles within the cavity, represented by Edipoles.
Thus,
Eloc = Eo + Edep + ES + Edipoles = E + ES + Edipoles
For cubic crystals, amorphous solids and liquids, the intrinsic dipoles cancel out.
Therefore:
Eloc = E + ES
We take a spherical shell around O with radius a and differential area dS = 2πa sin
θ (a dθ)
We are interested in field at O from dQp, which is the differential charge on the
differential surface element with area dS.
𝑑𝑄𝑝 𝑃 ∗ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 ∗ 2𝜋𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 ∗ 𝑎 𝑑𝜃
𝑑𝐸𝑠 = ∗ cos 𝜃 = ∗ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
4𝜋𝜖0 𝑎2 4𝜋𝜖0 𝑎2
To find total field, we perform integration:
𝜋
𝑃 ∗ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 ∗ 2𝜋𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 ∗ 𝑎 𝑑𝜃 1
𝐸𝑠 = ∫ ∗ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = 𝑃
0 4𝜋𝜖0 𝑎2 3𝜖0
𝟏
Therefore Elocal = 𝑬 + 𝑷
𝟑𝝐𝟎
Clausius-Mossotti Equation Derivation
Suppose that a dielectric medium is made up of identical molecules that develop a
dipole moment
when placed in an electric field . The constant 𝛼 is called the molecular
polarizability. If N is the number density of such molecules then the polarization of
the medium is
=>
For the figure in the previous page, we assume that the dielectric inside the sphere
O as separate molecules, and that outside as a continuous medium. The surface of
the sphere is intended to represent the boundary between the microscopic and the
macroscopic ranges of phenomena affecting the molecules.
For this sphere, there is a bound surface charge equal to
We use coulomb’s law to calculate the electric field by integration along the same
differential surface element dS mentioned in the previous page:
The electric field a distance from a dipole P is
It is assumed that the dipole moments of the molecules within the sphere are all the
same, and also that the molecules are evenly distributed throughout the sphere.
This being the case, the value of Ez at the molecule due to all of the other
molecules within in the sphere,
is zero, because, for evenly distributed molecules,
and
It is also easily demonstrated that 𝐸𝜃 = 𝐸𝜙 = 0 . Hence, the electric field at the
molecule due to the other molecules within the sphere averages to zero.
It is clear that the net electric field experienced by an individual molecule is
which is larger than the average electric field, E0 , in the dielectric. The above
analysis indicates that this effect is ascribable to the long range (rather than the
short range) interactions of the molecule with the other molecules in the medium.
Making use of the definition 𝑃 = 𝜖0 (𝜖 − 1)𝐸0 , we obtain
