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Title: RANGES OF BOUND WATER PROPERTIES ASSOCIATED WITH A SMECTITE CLAY

Author
item Logsdon, Sally
item Laird, David

Submitted to: Electromagnetic Wave Interaction with Water and Moist Substances Proceeding
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/26/2003
Publication Date: 3/26/2003
Citation: LOGSDON, S.D., LAIRD, D.A. RANGES OF BOUND WATER PROPERTIES ASSOCIATED WITH A SMECTITE CLAY. ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE INTERACTION WITH WATER AND MOIST SUBSTANCES PROCEEDING. 2003. P. 106-108.

Interpretive Summary: Water is an important component of soil. The water that binds to the fine soil particles, such as clay, is held more tightly than the rest of the water in the soil. This tightly-held water is not as easily taken up by plant roots, does not readily evaporate, and moves much more slowly in the soil than the rest of the water. We used a tool that measured properties of the tightly-held water. We showed that the tightly-held water is more rigid and moves more slowly in the soil than water not tightly-held. This is useful information for scientists who study soil, plants, and contaminated water leaving the soil. As we develop this tool, it will be useful for evaluating the soil resource in relation to crop growth and environmental quality.

Technical Abstract: Dielectric spectroscopy can be used to determine properties of bound water associated with clays. The purpose of this study is to measure and interpret complex dielectric spectra of humidified Ca Wyoming bentonite in relation to the quasi-crystal structure. We discuss bound water relaxation as well as the low frequency dispersion.