polarization

[poh-ler-uh-zey-shuh n] /ˌpoʊ lər əˈzeɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
a sharp division, as of a population or group, into opposing factions.
2.
Optics. a state, or the production of a state, in which rays of light or similar radiation exhibit different properties in different directions.
Compare circular polarization, elliptical polarization, plane polarization.
3.
Electricity.
  1. the deposit of gases, produced during electrolysis, on the electrodes of a cell, increasing the resistance of the cell.
  2. a vector quantity indicating the electric dipole moment per unit of volume of a dielectric.
  3. the induction of polarity in a ferromagnetic substance.
4.
the production or acquisition of polarity.
Origin
1805-15; polarize + -ation
Related forms
depolarization, noun
repolarization, noun
Examples from the web for polarization
  • Oddly, the polarization of the other photon will always match that of its partner.
  • The grains should twist them, changing the direction in which they oscillate so that they arrive with the same polarization.
  • It's quoted whenever political polarization takes place and centrists disappear.
  • Chaos maybe at the beginning of the polarization of market participants.
  • It has a moveable outer ring that you twist to find the maximum point of polarization.
  • Linear polarization refers to light with photons traveling along parallel, up-and-down wavelengths.
  • If anything that drives polarization more than anything fox could have possibly done.
  • All photons travel at the speed of light, and differ only in their frequency and direction of polarization.
  • That's the real polarization: government versus the people.
  • The comments in this article are an excellent example of the political polarization that marks the folly of our county.
British Dictionary definitions for polarization

polarization

/ˌpəʊləraɪˈzeɪʃən/
noun
1.
the condition of having or giving polarity
2.
(physics) the process or phenomenon in which the waves of light or other electromagnetic radiation are restricted to certain directions of vibration, usually specified in terms of the electric field vector
Word Origin and History for polarization
n.

1812, from polarize + -ation, and in part from French polarisation, noun of action from polariser. Figuratively from 1871; of social and political groups, "accentuation of differences," from 1945.

polarization in Medicine

polarization po·lar·i·za·tion (pō'lər-ĭ-zā'shən)
n.

  1. The production or condition of polarity.

  2. A process or state in which rays of light exhibit different properties in different directions, especially the state in which all the vibration takes place in one plane.

  3. The partial or complete polar separation of positive and negative electric charge in a nuclear, atomic, molecular, or chemical system.

  4. The coating of an electrode with a thick layer of hydrogen bubbles, with the result that the flow of current is weakened or arrested.

  5. The development of differences in potential between two points in living tissues, as between the inside and outside of the cell wall.

polarization in Science
polarization
  (pō'lər-ĭ-zā'shən)   

  1. A condition in which transverse waves vibrate consistently in a single plane, or along a circle or ellipse. Electromagnetic radiation such as light is composed of transverse waves and can be polarized. Certain kinds of light filters, including sunglasses that reduce glare, work by filtering out light that is polarized in one direction.

  2. The displacement of positive and negative electric charge to opposite ends of a nuclear, atomic, molecular, or chemical system, especially by subjection to an electric field. Atoms and molecules have some inherent polarization.

  3. An increased resistance to the flow of current in a voltaic cell, caused by chemical reactions at the electrodes. Polarization results in a reduction of the electric potential across the voltaic cell.


polarization in Culture

polarization definition


In politics, the grouping of opinions around two extremes: “As the debate continued, the union members were polarized into warring factions.”

polarization definition


The direction in which the electrical field of an electromagnetic wave points.

Note: Reflected light, such as the light that produces glare on a sunny day, is polarized so that the electrical field is parallel to the ground. Some sunglasses are designed to take advantage of this property by blocking out that particular polarization while allowing other light to come through.