DETERMINATION OF A DISTRIBUTION OF RELAXATION FREQUENCIES BASED ON EXPERIMENTAL RELAXATIONAL DATA

A possible explanation for the relaxation behavior of many phenomena, and in particular of dielectric polarization phenomena, has been to as sume the existence of a distribution of relaxation frequencies instead of a single relaxation frequency. It has been demonstrated that the n atural scale for the distribution of relaxation frequencies is logarit hmic in frequency axis. This assertion should be valid provided that t here is both a relationship, between the frequency and the activation energy, of an exponential type like in an Arrhenius equation, and that a distribution exists in the domain of activation energies. These act ivation energies could possibly correspond to the energy states of the relaxing entities. A theory is then here presented to show that the p roduct of the elapsed time by the depolarization current is a convolut ion of the distribution function of relaxation frequencies by a weight function of an asymmetric bell shape. A similar relationship is also shown to exist for the permittivity of a dielectric. Various consequen ces can be deduced from this theory, among them the determination of a similar relationship to that of the Hamon approximation. In the secon d part of this paper a deconvolution procedure has been proposed to fi nd the distribution function of relaxation frequencies from experiment al data, based on the above theory. Tests for this deconvolution proce dure and its associated theory are reported, based on theoretical dist ribution functions as well as on data taken from previous published wo rk.