True or False: “The amount of dielectric heating is inversely proportional to frequency.”

Introduction / Context:
Dielectric heating (RF heating) occurs when an alternating electric field causes dipole rotation and displacement currents in a lossy dielectric, dissipating power as heat. The dependence on frequency is central for applications like industrial heating and microwave ovens.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Lossy dielectric characterized by permittivity and loss tangent.
• Power density in a dielectric typically P ∝ f * E^2 * ε * tanδ (in simplified form).
• Within useful ranges, higher frequency often increases heating for a given field level.

Concept / Approach:

Because polarization lag creates dielectric loss, and displacement current increases with frequency, the dissipated power generally increases with frequency (up to material-specific dispersion or relaxation phenomena). Therefore, the claim of inverse proportionality is incorrect in most practical regimes.

Step-by-Step Reasoning:

Verification / Alternative check:

Microwave ovens (2.45 GHz) heat water-containing foods effectively because higher frequency enhances dielectric loss relative to lower RF frequencies, consistent with the proportional trend.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• True / frequency-specific truisms: contradict established proportionality in common ranges.
• Depends only on voltage: frequency explicitly appears in the loss model.

Common Pitfalls:

• Assuming conduction heating rules apply; dielectric heating is displacement-current based.
• Ignoring material dispersion where tanδ varies with f; but still not inversely proportional in general.

Final Answer:

False