what is dielectric constant

9 months ago 28
Nature

The dielectric constant, also known as relative permittivity, is a measure of a material's ability to store electrical energy. It is the ratio of the material's permittivity to the permittivity of free space. A high dielectric constant indicates a greater ability to store electrical energy. It is an important property for insulating materials, and it affects the capacitance of a capacitor. The dielectric constant is affected by factors such as temperature, frequency, and humidity. It is a dimensionless quantity, and its value for a vacuum is 1.00059 at room temperature.