Author
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Nelson, Stuart |
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Submitted to: American Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 11/19/2004 Publication Date: 2/17/2005 Citation: Nelson, S.O. 2005. Dielectric spectroscopy of fresh fruits and vegetables [abstract]. American Association for the Advancement of Science. p. A134. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Dielectric properties of agricultural products are of interest for several reasons. These include the sensing of moisture content through its correlation with the dielectric properties, or permittivities, of cereal grain and oilseed crops, the influence of permittivity on the dielectric heating of products at microwave or lower radio frequencies, and the potential use of permittivities for sensing quality factors other than moisture content. The possibility of sensing maturity of fresh peaches was explored, with some potential indicated for a permittivity-based maturity index. Dielectric properties of fresh apple, avocado, banana, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, grape, orange, and potato have been measured over the frequency range from 10 MHz to 1.8 GHz at temperatures from 5 to 95 degrees C. These data are presented graphically for the dielectric constant and loss factor to show the frequency and temperature dependence of these properties. The data provide new information useful in understanding dielectric heating behavior and evaluating dielectric properties of such agricultural products for quality sensing applications. |
