Significance of Dipole

The word dipole is made up of two words: di and pole. Di means two and poles. Hence, the literal meaning of dipole is two poles. Scientifically, the dipole is a phenomenon in which two charges, each having a different kind of charge, are placed at a small distance from each other.

The dipole can also apply to a magnetic system where two poles of a magnet act as oppositely charged particles. The distance between the two churches helps us calculate the strength of the electric typo between the two particles. Let us study the significance of these dipoles.

Dipole

The dipole is the separation of two charged particles. In order for this separation to be classified as the dipole, the following conditions must be fulfilled.

The two charges must be opposite in nature. This means you cannot use two positive charges or two negative charges to set up a dipole.

You have to use two charges. Since dipole is about the balance, you have used two charges and not 1 or 3, which would result in odd numbers.

The magnitude of the two opposite charges to be used must be exactly equal to each other. Since the dipole should cancel out supposed to charge with the negative charge, the magnitude of both these charges needs to be equal to each other.

The distance between the two charges must not be too long. If the distance between two charges is too much, then no effect will be seen.

Types of Dipole

There are two different types of type poles based on whether the electric charges that participate in the dipole exhibit movement or not. If the charges are stable and do not move, then the dipole moment between them are electric dipoles.

If the charges in the dipole move, it leads to the formation of the magnetic field.

Such a type of dipole is the magnetic dipole. 

However, the magnetic type poles are not only formed when electric charges move. Magnetic dipoles also exist in magnetic materials or objects.

For example,  our planet earth is also a Dipole. Earth is a magnetic dipole. The North geographic pole of earth contains the South magnetic pole and the South geographic pole contains the north magnetic pole.

The diameter of the earth is the distance that separates the two opposite poles from one another.This is exactly the concept on which the compass works. The compass has a magnetic needle. The magnetic needle’s north pole points towards the north and the south pole of the magnetic needle points towards the north and the South pole of the magnetic needle points towards South.

 This is because the north geographic pole of the earth contains the magnetic south pole. The north pole in the magnetic needle gets attached towards the south magnetic pole of the earth. This is how the north pole of the needle ends up pointing to the north pole of the earth.

The Significance of the Dipole Moment

The dipole moment phenomenon is a special case that requires the two participating charges to have a magnitude equal to each other and opposite charges. The distance of separation also needs to be small. All these characteristics of the dipoles have great significance.

The dipole moment measures the polarisation of a system that seems to be neutral. 

It also tells us how much the dipole’s tendency to get aligned to an external electric field is.

If the charges are large and the distance between them is large, then the electric field will be characterised as non-monopole.

Another significance of dipole is that it is an average quantity that will let you measure what would be the resultant torque due to an external electric field.

The dipole has a great application in chemistry. The dipole let’s study what the behaviour of polar molecules will be even in the absence of the electric fields.

Dipoles let us understand the various properties and applications of different polar molecules.

• Dipole moment tells us how particles and atoms with magnetic dipole moment will move in a magnetic field. 
• From the dipole, we can even determine the distance between two atoms and what charge they carry.
• With the help of the dipole moment, we can even calculate the percentage of ionic character in atoms and molecules is.
• The only way to make a magnetic dipole is to form current loops or quantum-mechanical spin, as magnetic monopoles do not actually exist. This is because the two magnets can never be truly separated from each other.
• Such is the significance of the dipole and various types of the dipole.

Conclusion

The electrons and protons present in the atoms and molecules of elements lead to the positive or negative charges of those elements. When these charges interact, they give rise to many phenomena like various kinds of fields and moments. The dipole moment is one of them. 

The dipole is a system in which two oppositely charged particles are separated by a small distance.Their magnitude needs to be equal. The dipole helps to study the polar molecules and other phenomena in chemistry. Earth is an example of a magnetic dipole. The two poles of the earth are separated by diameter.