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polarization
[poh-ler-uh-zey-shuhn]
noun
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.
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.
polarization
/ ˌəʊəɪˈɪʃə /
noun
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
polarization
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.
polarization
1The direction in which the electrical field of an electromagnetic wave points.
polarization
2In politics, the grouping of opinions around two extremes: “As the debate continued, the union members were polarized into warring factions.”
Other Word Forms
- depolarization noun
- repolarization noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of polarization1
Example Sentences
This common-sense financial mechanism built huge amounts of our national infrastructure in the past but currently faces headwinds because of self-destructive political polarization.
Partisan polarization and voter alienation are key symptoms of worldwide democratic backsliding.
“The parties want to build very different worlds, voters know it, and they know which world they want to live in,” said Vavreck, who has focused on the country’s extreme political polarization.
Consider the teaching of evolution, which still faces resistance in parts of the United States more than a century after Darwin, or climate change, for which overwhelming scientific consensus has not prevented political polarization.
Milo Hsieh, founder of the consulting firm Safe Spaces in Taipei, says that distinction makes them more susceptible to discriminatory legal treatment, particularly in times of extreme political polarization.
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