One way of studying a material is to characterize it by study of the influence of the applied electrical field. One of the way in which, the materials are classified is by looking into their electrical conductivity under the influence of external electrical field. The classification has lead into naming of materials on this effect, namely as conductors, semi conductor and insulators.
Insulators are those materials, which do not conduct electricity. With this statement one may conclude that these are the materials which do not get influenced by electric field, which is however not true. The insulators, which are also known as Dielectrics have been found to have an influence of external electrical field. Faraday first observed this, through the working of capacitors. An insulator is defined as that material which does not allow the conduction of electrons when an electrical field is applied due to the absence of free electrons. The dielectric being a non-conductor has the ability to hold the electrostatic field and hence can store the electrical energy. This is possible due to the phenomenon of polarization of what are known as electric dipoles (permanent and induced).
Insulators are those materials, which do not conduct electricity. With this statement one may conclude that these are the materials which do not get influenced by electric field, which is however not true. The insulators, which are also known as Dielectrics have been found to have an influence of external electrical field. Faraday first observed this, through the working of capacitors. An insulator is defined as that material which does not allow the conduction of electrons when an electrical field is applied due to the absence of free electrons. The dielectric being a non-conductor has the ability to hold the electrostatic field and hence can store the electrical energy. This is possible due to the phenomenon of polarization of what are known as electric dipoles (permanent and induced).
