Similarity of the dielectric relaxation processes and transport characteristics in water and ice

The electrical characteristics of ice and water in wide temperature and frequency ranges are analyzed and compared. It is found that the experimental data agree well with the conjecture that the mechanisms of electrical relaxation in ice and water are similar to each other. In particular, it is shown that the theory of electrical relaxation developed for ice gives a quantitative description of the same data for water under the assumption that the activation energy of defects (violations of the ice rule) is lower in water. The reasons for the similarity of electrical relaxation mechanisms and possible applications of such similarity are discussed.