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Chapter 2: The Importance of

Joe T. Evans, Jr. November 7, 2005 Edited May 17, 2008

Authors Note: The purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to the concept that the properties you will measure with the EDU are tied to the fundamental structure of the universe. This chapter is not required reading and it is not necessary for you to understand its contents in order to use the RADIANT EDU. You may skip this discussion if you wish and proceed to the next chapter, Chapter 3 - Paraelectric Capacitors

Introduction: The RADIANT EDU educational materials tester measures the charge exchanged with a sample when a voltage is applied. As we saw in Chapter 1 - Linear Capacitance and its associated presentation Simple Capacitance, the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor can be described by the equation: Capacitance = C = A/t eq(1.2)

The area and thickness are geometrical values related to the structure of the capacitor. If the geometry of the capacitor changes, then the capacitance will change as well. The primary characteristic of a capacitor, though, is set by the parameter , the dielectric constant, and will be in any capacitance equation. You now know that capacitors do what they do because of the forces between charged particles. When we cite the equation for the charge stored in a capacitor Q = CV = ( A / t) V, eq(1.6)

the units of appear to be Coulombs/volt-cm. In reality, the units of are Newton meters2 per Coulomb2 (Nm2/C2). The meaning of the units of any physical parameter can be very confusing and is no exception. The interpretation for you to understand here is that represents the standard unit of force (in units of Newtons) acting across a distance (in units of meters) against charged particles (in units of Coulombs). The parameter does not define capacitance so much as it defines the strength of the force one charged particle exerts on another at a distance. This is a very important concept because it makes our universe work. In the discussion that follows, I will explain how the

parameter affects the physics and operation of our existence according our present understanding. Fundamentals: The fundamental property of electrical capacitance is deeply embedded in the scientific discipline called materials science or materials engineering. Few people realize, however, that capacitance permeates all sciences. Capacitance is a fundamental property of nature. Its value is defined by the physical constant of space-time called the dielectric constant of the vacuum (o). o is so important because it defines the speed of light in a vacuum1: Speed of light = c = SQRT 1/ SQRT (00) = electric dielectric constant = magnetic permittivity = the square root function eq(2.1)

If the photon is passing through a material instead of a vacuum, the relative constants should be used so o becomes and o becomes . According to Dr. Albert Einstein, and so far he has not been proven wrong, the speed of light is the critical parameter defining the physics of the universe. For instance, in quantum mechanics, it determines the energy content of the wave function of any particle having the wavelength of .2 EP = nhc/ EP = the energy of a photon n = the quantum number h = Plancks constant3 h = 6.626 x 10-34 Joule seconds c = the speed of light = the wavelength of the particle. eq(2.2)

If we set n to 1, then we might say that we have one quantum of energy. In any situation, we can add up all of the quanta of energy before an event and the number will remain unchanged after the event. This accounting rule, the law of the conservation of energy, applies only if we take into account not only the quanta of energy but also all of the quanta incorporated into the mass surrounding the event as well. Einstein gave us the famous equation

Em

m c2 Em = m = c =

eq(2.3) the energy contained in a particle of mass the mass of the particle the speed of light

which tells us that energy and mass are just different phases of the same thing, like steam and water. Notice that you can convert mass to energy and then energy to a wavelength using equations (2.2) and (2.3) together. This example captures the essence of the duality between waves and particles that scientists, both men and women, argued about passionately during the 1800s. The parameter c is critical to both equations. The parameter c is also the primary parameter governing the mixing of space and time in the equations from special relativity5 x = (x-vt) / SQRT(1 v2/c2) eq(2.4)

t = (t-V/c2 x) / SQRT(1 v2/c2). eq(2.5) x = the position of a moving object as seen by the observer x = the position of the moving object as it sees itself. t = the time of the observation according to the observer. t = the time of the observation according the moving object. v = the relative velocity between the object and observer

The general public is familiar with the phrase bending space and time. That phrase comes from Einsteins general theory of relativity. In his special theory of relativity, which was the first one he published and is a subset of the general theory of relativity, time is considered a fourth location variable just like x, y, and z. Each dimension has a specific size with respect to the other three and all four add up to a single constant in a relation similar to the Pythagorean Theorem. From your perspective as the observer, relativity simply changes the sizes of the four dimensions with respect to each other but they always add up to that same Pythagorean constant under all conditions! If one goes up, another has to go down. You do not gain or lose anything, things just look different. The value of the speed of light, which is set by our dielectric constant parameter, is the single constant in the equation that calculates how the mixing of the dimensions takes place. The equations and their explanations above are intimidating but it is not that hard to perceive their meanings. Remember that electrons have an electric field around them that originates from each electron. This electric field causes electrons to repel each other, a

property that never changes under any and all conditions of quantum mechanics and relativity. Distances can shrink, time can slow down, light can bend, but electric charge never changes. This makes electric charge a true constant. The dielectric constant in equation (1.2) above is simply the number that allows you to calculate how hard one electron pushes against another. The magnetic permittivity constant () in equation (2.1) above tells us the same thing about magnets, how hard they push against or pull towards each other. A photon of light consists of a little ball of electric field and magnetic field oscillating in sync with each other, each clearing the way through space for the other with no friction, no loss. So the dielectric constant and the magnetic permittivity constant define how a photon moves through space. This concept is central to quantum mechanics because a photon is a fundamental mode of energy exchange between all matter. It is also central to the theory of relativity because the presence of energy or matter bends space and affects the path that the photon follows as it travels from one place to another. If you do not understand this, dont worry. No one truly does, not even the individuals who study it their entire lives! However, they enjoy the pursuit of the answer. Note: For those of you who are interested in such things, magnetism actually results from the effect of special relativity that occur when an electric field moves. [See equation (2.4)] The electric field sees the distance ahead of it or behind it as shorter than the distances to its sides. So physicists do not speak of electric fields and magnetic fields, just stationary electric fields and moving electric fields. Remember, photons move very fast! So do electrons under the right conditions.

The Mechanism of Capacitance: So, what is capacitance? It is a simple concept. We take a volume and store electrons in it. The electrons will repel each other and try to force each other back out of that volume. Electric fields have unlimited range so capacitance can apply over any scale. As an example, lets create a new universe in our minds eye that is absolutely empty. In it we place at some distance from each other two electrons in such a way that they cannot move. They are the only particles in our imaginary universe. There is a force between the electrons, and they will move away from each other if we suddenly give them the freedom to move. The universe is a volume occupied by charges that repel each other. This structure we have created in our minds meets the definition of a capacitor, albeit one with very little capacitance given the size of the imaginary universe with only two electrons! Back on earth in our own universe, the laws of physics say that the repulsion between two like particles is perfectly reversible. You can pull electrons out of a volume, leaving behind a net positive charge in the volume, and the electrons will try to go back. What if there is no matter in the volume in the first place? What if there is only empty space, a vacuum, in that volume to begin with? Can you still pull out an electron? Well, you
4

cant, but a black hole can.5 It will suck an electron out of the vacuum beside it and leave behind a positive charge, the positively charged anti-matter equivalent to the electron called the positron. How can you get something from nothing? Well, you still have nothing because (e- + p+ = 0) just like [+1] + [-1] = 0. eq(2.7) eq(2.6)

The black hole just cuts nothing in half and separates the two parts! Conservation of momentum requires that the positron move out of the volume in the opposite direction from the black hole since the electron went into the black hole. When it does, it takes away a little of the energy of the black hole embodied in the velocity and mass of the positron. Since Einstein says energy is mass, that means the black hole shrinks a little bit when it sucks an electron out of the vacuum right next to it. The constant determines how easy or hard it is for the black hole to suck in that electron. Now you know something special: black holes evaporate and that pesky is involved! Now, some black holes are very big. The present estimate is that the black hole at the middle of the Andromeda galaxy has the mass equivalent to 124 million of our own suns!6 Fundamental particles like the electron and the positron are very small. So it will take an extremely long time for the black hole at the center of Andromeda to go away, but it will. Of course, this process is itself reversible so the black hole can suck in a positron and spit out an electron or any other number of paired matter/anti-matter particles. Black holes! Empty universes! Quantum mechanics! Time slowing down! You must realize that when you build, measure, or use a capacitor, you are invoking one of the most fundamental properties of the universe, and it all boils down to how many electrons you can force into that capacitor with a voltage.

Relative Dielectric Constant: Recall the meaning of the relative dielectric constant from the previous lesson Chapter 1 - Linear Capacitance. In that lesson, we learned that the ratio of the number of electrons that we can force into a capacitor with and without a material inside the capacitor is called the relative dielectric constant (r) of that material. If r is 2, then we can force twice as many electrons into the capacitor at the same voltage as we could if there was only a vacuum in the capacitor. The reason is that the balance of forces inside

the capacitor is different than when no material is present. A vacuum has the fundamental dielectric constant of the universe called o. The constants o and r together tell us the true capacitance of the device. = o r eq(1.5)

A very important effect of the relative dielectric constant is how it changes the speed of light according to equation (2.1). Since is larger inside a material, light moves slower through that material than it does through a vacuum. A lens uses this difference in speed to bend light and bring an image to focus. If you consider several light rays simultaneously leaving an object far from the lens, the image forms at the point where the rays all arrive at the same time after considering the differing amounts of time each ray spends at a slower speed inside the lens. The physical distance from the object to the focal point is not the same for each light ray, but the time of flight for each light ray is the same. There is a very good explanation of this effect for you to review in a book by Richard Feynman, a famous physicist.7

Figure 2.1 Bending Light with a Lens The capacitors you will test with the EDU depend on for their operation so they are cousins to the human eye and even the Hubble Telescope, which is attempting to look back in time almost to the Big Bang. Of course, the Big Bang created a lot of hydrogen and helium atoms that then formed stars which themselves started creating complex atoms and molecules and. you guessed it. The Big Bang created all of the matter that increases the dielectric constant of our capacitors and allows us to bend light to make telescopes that try to see the Big Bang! There is another interesting fact about relative dielectric constant. Amino acids, the building blocks of life, have a peculiar property. In water, that magic elixir of life, they can be a base, an acid, or both at the same time. You may not be aware that being a base or an acid involves having an extra positive or negative electric charge with which to interact with other molecules, to apply force to other molecules. When amino acids are formed into long chains to make proteins, enzymes, and other molecules, the exposed electrical charges in the individual amino acids of the chain attract or repel each other and cause the chain to curl up into amazing shapes. When another folded molecule with

exposed charges comes along and contacts just the right part of our first molecule, it changes the summation of the forces in the first molecule so the first molecule changes its shape and its function. strikes again! It has to contend with water and all sorts of charged protons, atoms, and molecules floating around it so the value of r in this situation is hard to figure out, and it changes constantly under the control of life processes. In fact, you can consider the manipulation of r locally at the molecular level as one of the fundamental mechanisms of life. The calculation of the force exerted by one biological molecule on another gets so complex we still do not comprehend it all. Clearly, makes life work.

Conclusion: Quantum mechanical theory supposes that a single electron speeding through space actually fills the entire universe it is traversing. This is a hard concept to grasp but it does conjure up the idea that the entire universe down to the smallest of particles, including you and me, are all tied together. As we have seen, the simple property that electrons repel each other and attract protons is involved in everything large and small, creating order out of chaos in the universe and bringing you and me to life. This is a wondrous thing, but we did not make it this way. The universe was running according to its rules long before we appeared on the scene and started asking questions. As you join us at Radiant Technologies to study capacitors and their properties, you will be invoking that same parameter to do your bidding, small as it is in the scheme of things. My simple advice to you is always remember the wonder of it all!

Postscript Comment, critique, or contribute more to this chapter. Contact us at Radiant Technologies, Inc. (radiant@ferrodevices.com or 01-505-842-8007)

Acknowledgement The author would like to thank Mario Serna, doctoral candidate in physics at Oxford University for his valiant efforts to keep this document true.

References:
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3 4

James Clerk Maxwell, Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1873 and 1998 Max Planck, Zur Theorie des Gesetzes des Energieverteilung im Normalspectrum (1900), Original Papers in Quantum Physics, Annotated by Hans Kangro, Translated by D. ter Haar and Stephen G. Brush, Taylor & Francis, New York, Halsted Press Division Wiley, 1972 Visit http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/introduction.html for a nice tutorial from NIST A. Einstein, Relativity, The Special and The General Theory, Wings Books, 1961, pp37

S. Hawking, Particle Creation by Black Holes, Commun.Math.Phys.43:199-220,1975, Erratumibid.46:206-206,1976 R. Bender et al, HST STIS Spectroscopy of the Triple Nucleus of M31: Two Nested Disks in Keplerian Rotation around a Supermassive Black Hole, The Astrophysical Journal, 631:280-300, 2005 September 20 Richard Phillips Feynman, QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1985

On a personal note, I am always amazed that I can go into a library and find the classic literature from engineering and science. I found the references above in the Centennial Engineering Library at the University of New Mexico. Libraries preserve knowledge concerning every aspect of human endeavor and history. Libraries are one of the most powerful cultural forces in the world.