RELAXATION OF POLARIZATION

The relaxation of a wide range of solid dielectrics follows fractional power laws in frequency known as the "universal" or constant phase angle law. Instead of analysing the time dependence of the microscopic relaxations of dipoles or of charges in terms of the fluctuation dissipation theorem, we make use of the unique property of the universal law that the ratio of the macroscopic energy lost per radian to energy stored in the system under an alternating field drive is independent of frequency. We show that in solids a sufficient condition for this "energy criterion" to be satisfied is that the energy loss per microscopic reversal is the same regardless of the rate of reversals. The significance of this is discussed.