A calculation of the static dielectric constant of ice

The paper gives a calculation of the static dielectric constant of ice using Frőhlich´s general theory of the static dielectric constant and a recent generalization of it for anisotropic materials². The calculation is made with the principal assumption that an ice crystal containing N molecules can take up any of (3/2)^N configurations, each with equal probability, in the manner proposed by Pauling.³ The calculation includes the effect of interactions up to and including the third nearest neighbors of a given molecule. The dielectric constant thus calculated is in good agreement with the experimental values at present available. It seems, therefore, that Pauling´s hypothesis although difficult to justify leads to the correct value for the dielectric constant of ice. The anisotropy of the static dielectric constant is probably small but no exact calculation has been possible.