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View synonyms for polarization

polarization

[ 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.
    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.


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


polarization

/ pō′lər-ĭ-zāshən /

  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

1
  1. The direction in which the electrical field of an electromagnetic wave points.


polarization

2
  1. In politics, the grouping of opinions around two extremes: “As the debate continued, the union members were polarized into warring factions .”

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Notes

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.

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Other Words From

  • de·polar·i·zation noun
  • repo·lar·i·zation noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of polarization1

First recorded in 1805–15; polarize + -ation

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Example Sentences

In this duopolistic business model, polarization is a feature, not a bug.

Furthermore, FiveThirtyEight’s version of a fundamentals model actually shows the race as a tie — it expects the race to tighten given the high polarization and projected economic improvement between now and November.

There aren’t many undecided voters, there are no major third-party candidates, polarization has been high and polls have been stable.

Instead, they point to the political polarization evident in public opinion on Portland as indicative of the danger we’re in.

One method, pioneered by the English scientist Michael Faraday back in 1845, detects a magnetic field from the way it rotates the polarization direction of light passing through it.

The astronomers found that of the 93 quasars in the sample, 19 exhibited a measurable amount of polarization.

The direction of polarization for a quasar is determined by the accretion disk surrounding it.

The authors took care to eliminate the possibility of other sources of polarization, which is always a concern in astronomy.

But it does serve to demonstrate the remarkable political polarization in the United States.

Much of that hard-fought cohesion is being undermined by leaders now using ethnic polarization as a force to mobilize.

It behaves the same as glucose with all the ordinary tests, and can be distinguished only by polarization.

Readings are made three or four seconds after each dilution, when the polarization has been fully established.

The conclusion that light waves are transverse is therefore based upon the phenomenon of the polarization of light.

The government standard for molasses is 56 degrees polarization.

It derives its name from the circumstance that it turns, more than any other body, the plane of polarization to the right hand.

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polaritypolarization charge