po·lar·i·za·tion

[poh-ler-uh-zey-shuhn]
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.
a.
the deposit of gases, produced during electrolysis, on the electrodes of a cell, increasing the resistance of the cell.
b.
a vector quantity indicating the electric dipole moment per unit of volume of a dielectric.
c.
the induction of polarity in a ferromagnetic substance.
4.
the production or acquisition of polarity.
Origin:
1805–15; polarize + -ation

Related forms
de·po·lar·i·za·tion, noun
re·po·lar·i·za·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Depolarization
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a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
depolarize or depolarise (diːˈpəʊləˌraɪz) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb
to undergo or cause to undergo a loss of polarity or polarization
 
depolarise or depolarise
 
—vb
 
depolari'zation or depolarise
 
—n
 
depolari'sation or depolarise
 
—n
 
de'polarizer or depolarise
 
—n
 
de'polariser or depolarise
 
—n

polarization or polarisation (ˌpəʊləraɪˈzeɪʃən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
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
 
polarisation or polarisation
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

depolarization
1815, from de- + polarization (see polarize).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

depolarization de·po·lar·i·za·tion (dē-pō'lər-ĭ-zā'shən)
n.
Elimination or neutralization of polarity, as in nerve cells.

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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
polarization   (pō'lər-ĭ-zā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 

  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.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

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.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
In human tissue induced currents have shown to cause nerve and muscle depolarization.
Example studies have shown induced currents to cause nerve and muscle depolarization.
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