The dielectric constant and particle charging calculations

The dielectric constant is one of the independent variables in theoretical expressions for the electrical charge acquired by particles-exposed to gaseous ions in the presence of an external electric fields. Analyses were performed on all existing base of charging data to determine whether the effects that are predicted theoretically are consistent with experiments. Two types of analyses were performed using charging data for polystyrene (K=2.5), oleic acid (K=2.5), and glass (K=7.6) particles ranging in size from 0.03 to 13 mu m in electric fields of up to 3000 V/cm. The first analysis involved comparisons between particles with different dielectric constants. Tests were performed to determine if differences in charge were statistically significant. The second analysis involved the use of theory to infer the dielectric constant from the data. These inferred values are compared with accepted values.<>