An Analogy Between the Effects of Fluctuating Electric Fields and Steady Magnetic Fields in Isotropic Conductors when a Universal Relaxation Time Cannot Be Defined

Abstract

It is well known that when a " universal" time of relaxation ("t') exists, the influence of a harmonically varying electric field (F cceiOlt) on the transport properties of a solid may be taken into account by replacing "t' by "t'/(l +iCil"t'). Dingle (1956a) demonstrated that, for an isotropic solid, the effect of a steady magnetic field may similarly be obtained by replacing "t' by "t'/(l+j~l"t') with an applied d;c. electric field, and by "t'/[l+(iCil+jO)"t'] with an a.c. field. (Here j2= -1, ij -=1= -1, and 0=( -e)H/mc is the circular frequency of precession of an electron.) The object of the present note is to show that this analogy between a high frequency electric field and a steady magnetic field still exists, even when a " universal" relaxation time cannot be defined.