The dielectric constant of water vapor at centimeter wavelengths

One of the first applications of microwave techniques for determining dielectric properties of gases was made by Saxton who determined the dielectric properties of steam at 9 cm, 3.2 cm, and 1.6 cm.¹ He found a dispersion which he was unable to account for theoretically. Saxton´s results and those obtained at lower frequencies by other investigators are shown in Table 1. The present work was undertaken to determine whether or not this dispersion is genuine and to calculate the dispersion to be expected from the theoretical absorption in the centimeter and millimeter wavelength regions.