  We present an application of the Lorentz model in which fits to vibrational
spectra or a Kramers Kronig analysis are employed along with several useful
formalisms to quantify microscopic charge in unoriented (powdered) materials.
The conditions under which these techniques can be employed are discussed, and
we analyze the vibrational response of a layered transition metal
dichalcogenide and its nanoscale analog to illustrate the utility of this
approach.
