ABSTRACT
Polarizability is a very important concept in the analysis of macroscopic dielectric properties of heterogeneous media. Special emphasis is given to the manner how geometric and surface characteristics affect the response of matter inclusions. This review presents the results for the dielectric response and discusses the surface-geometrical parameters of various particle polarizabilities that are important in the modeling of material effects in the context of metamaterials. A detailed knowledge of the polarizability of inclusions with basic shapes gives valuable information about the way how such building blocks contribute to the effective dielectric parameters of a continuum. Many models for the macroscopic properties of matter replace the effect of the particles in the medium fully by its polarizability. Nevertheless, dipolarizability remains the dominant term in the characteristics of the inclusion.
