Dielectric relaxation with dipolar screening

The phenomenon of dipolar screening does not appear to have received sufficient attention in the past, in a manner comparable to charged particle screening, and yet it is shown that it is capable of explaining some forms of dielectric response to which no other evident explanation exists. While reorientations of mathematical dipoles of zero ''length'' do not entail any charge displacements, physical dipoles of finite length, I, do produce charge displacements and therefore screening. A theory of dipolar screening is presented and it is shown that relatively ''dense'' systems give complete screening so that neighbouring dipoles do not ''see'' one another, while in more dilute systems many dipoles fall within a screening radius, R-s, of any one dipole. Dipoles within tend to adopt energetically R-s favoured configuration and the entire system ''seizes up'' in a ''domain'', thus reducing the number of dipoles which can be reoriented at finite frequencies.