Rec. ITU-R P.527-4 3
As shown in equation (1a) the wavenumber depends on both and , not either separately. Also
formulations of other physical parameters describing various radio wave propagation mechanisms
such as scattering cross section, reflection coefficients, and refraction angles, depend on values of
this combination. Furthermore, the square root of this combination is equivalent to the refractive
index formulation used in characterizing the troposphere and the ionosphere. The refractive index is
also used in characterizing different materials at the millimetre wave and optical frequency bands.
Accordingly, to simplify the formulations describing various propagation mechanisms and to
standardize terminologies of electrical characteristics at different frequency bands, the combination
is defined as the complex permittivity and used to describe the electrical characteristics of
substances.
While permittivity refers to ε, relative permittivity refers to ε
, and complex relative permittivity,
defined as
refers to:
(1b)
where may be complex.
In equation (1b),
is the real part of the complex permittivity, and
is the imaginary part of the
complex permittivity. The real part of the complex relative permittivity,
, is associated with the
stored energy when the substance is exposed to an electromagnetic field. The imaginary part of the
complex relative permittivity,
, influences energy absorption and is known as the loss factor. The
minus sign in equation (1b) is associated with an electromagnetic field having time dependence of
(is frequency in Hz, and is time in seconds). If the time dependence is
, the minus
(–) sign in equation (1b) is replaced by a plus (+) sign.
At frequencies up to 1 000 GHz, dissipation within the Earth’s surface is attributed to either
translational (conduction current) charge motion or vibrational (dipole vibration) charge motion, and
the imaginary part of the complex relative permittivity,
can be decomposed into two terms:
(2)
where
′′
represents the dissipation due to displacement current associated with dipole vibration, and
represents the dissipation due to conduction current.
Conduction current consists of the bulk translation movement of free charges and is the only current
at zero (i.e. dc) frequency. Conduction current is greater than displacement current at frequencies
below the transition frequency,
, and the displacement current is greater than the conduction current
at frequencies above the transition frequency,
. The transition frequency,
, defined as the
frequency where the conduction and displacement currents are equal, is:
(3)
For non-conducting (lossless) dielectric substances , and hence
. For some of those
substances, such as dry soil and dry vegetation,
, and hence
irrespective of the
frequency, which is the case considered in § 2.1.2.3 of Recommendation ITU-R P.2040. On the other
hand, for some other non-conducting substances, such as pure water and dry snow,
, and hence
,
equal zero only at zero frequency. Accordingly, § 2.1.2.3 of Recommendation ITU-R P.2040 cannot
be applied to those substances.
For conducting (lossy) dielectric substances, such as sea water and wet soil, the electrical conductivity
has finite values different than zero. Accordingly, as the frequency tends to zero, the imaginary part
of the complex relative permittivity of those substances tends to as it can be inferred from
equation (3). In this case, it is easier to work with the conductivity instead of the imaginary part of