polarization
a sharp division, as of a population or group, into opposing factions.
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.
Electricity.
the deposit of gases, produced during electrolysis, on the electrodes of a cell, increasing the resistance of the cell.
a vector quantity indicating the electric dipole moment per unit of volume of a dielectric.
the induction of polarity in a ferromagnetic substance.
the production or acquisition of polarity.
Origin of polarization
1Other words from polarization
- de·po·lar·i·za·tion, noun
- re·po·lar·i·za·tion, noun
Words Nearby polarization
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use polarization in a sentence
In this duopolistic business model, polarization is a feature, not a bug.
America’s Hidden Duopoly (Ep. 356 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 3, 2020 | FreakonomicsFurthermore, 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.
Our Election Forecast Didn’t Say What I Thought It Would | Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com) | August 17, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThere aren’t many undecided voters, there are no major third-party candidates, polarization has been high and polls have been stable.
How FiveThirtyEight’s 2020 Presidential Forecast Works — And What’s Different Because Of COVID-19 | Nate Silver (nrsilver@fivethirtyeight.com) | August 12, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightInstead, they point to the political polarization evident in public opinion on Portland as indicative of the danger we’re in.
What Happened In Portland Shows Just How Fragile Our Democracy Is | Maggie Koerth (maggie.koerth-baker@fivethirtyeight.com) | August 5, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightOne 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 Hidden Magnetic Universe Begins to Come Into View | Natalie Wolchover | July 2, 2020 | Quanta Magazine
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.
Preventing South Sudan’s Civil War | John Prendergast, Akshaya Kumar | December 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIt behaves the same as glucose with all the ordinary tests, and can be distinguished only by polarization.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddReadings are made three or four seconds after each dilution, when the polarization has been fully established.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2. | Julius StieglitzThe conclusion that light waves are transverse is therefore based upon the phenomenon of the polarization of light.
Physics | Willis Eugene TowerThe 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.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines | Andrew Ure
British Dictionary definitions for polarization
polarisation
/ (ˌpəʊləraɪˈzeɪʃən) /
the condition of having or giving polarity
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for polarization
[ pō′lər-ĭ-zā′shən ]
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.
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.
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 © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for polarization (1 of 2)
In politics, the grouping of opinions around two extremes: “As the debate continued, the union members were polarized into warring factions.”
The direction in which the electrical field of an electromagnetic wave points.
Notes for polarization
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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