The dielectric relaxation spectra of water, ice and aqueous solutions, and their interpretation. II. Tentative interpretation of the relaxation spectrum of water in the time and frequency domain

For pt.I see ibid., vol.23, no.5, Oct. 1988, p.801-16. A qualitative discussion on the relaxation spectrum of water in the time and frequency domains is presented. According to the picture that emerges, quantum jumps, induced by thermal phonon excitation in the near infrared, disconnect water dipoles sufficiently from their surroundings to allow reorientation of these dipoles and a subsequent reorganization of their near-surroundings. In an applied electric field, these jumps can be measured as polarization spike signals in the time domain. The statistical correlation time between the consecutive jumps of the same water molecule determines the relaxation time τ in the frequency domain. With increasing temperature, the statistical average of the required activation energy moves from the intramolecular into the intermolecular region, and the effect deuterium substitution on vibration frequency and τ consequently falls from the mass ratio √D/H toward √D₂O/H₂O