Definition:Electric Displacement Field
Definition
The electric displacement field is a vector quantity defined as the electric field strength multiplied by the permittivity of the medium through which it passes:
- $\mathbf D = \varepsilon \mathbf E$
where:
- $\varepsilon$ is the permittivity of the medium
- $\mathbf E$ is the electric field strength
Symbol
The usual symbol used to denote an electric displacement field is $\mathbf D$.
Dimension
Electric displacement field has the dimension $\mathsf {I T L}^{-2}$.
Units
The SI units of electric displacement field are coulombs per square metre: $\mathrm C \, \mathrm m^{-2}$
In the CGS unrationalised electromagnetic system, the unit of electric displacement field is the electromagnetic unit of electric displacement $\mathrm {e.m.u.}$
In the CGS unrationalised electrostatic system, the unit of electric displacement field is the electrostatic unit of electric displacement $\mathrm {e.s.u.}$
Conversion Factors
\(\ds \) | \(\) | \(\ds 1\) | coulomb per square metre | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(=\) | \(\ds 10^{-5}\) | e.m.u. of electric displacement | |||||||||||
\(\ds \) | \(\approx\) | \(\ds 3 \times 10^5\) | e.s.u. of electric displacement |
Also known as
An electric displacement field is also known as electric induction.
Also see
- Results about electric displacement field can be found here.
Sources
- 1970: George Arfken: Mathematical Methods for Physicists (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Introduction: Electromagnetic Theory