Neutral or neutrality may refer to:

Mathematics and natural science

Biology

* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the

unified neutral theory of biodiversity The unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography (here "Unified Theory" or "UNTB") is a theory and the title of a monograph by ecologist Stephen P. Hubbell. It aims to explain the diversity and relative abundance of species in ecolo ...

Chemistry and physics

Neutralization (chemistry) In chemistry, neutralization or neutralisation (see spelling differences) is a chemical reaction in which acid and a base react quantitatively with each other. In a reaction in water, neutralization results in there being no excess of hydrogen o ...

, a chemical reaction in which an acid and a base react quantitatively with each other *

Neutral solution In chemistry, pH (), historically denoting "potential of hydrogen" (or "power of hydrogen"), is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Acidic solutions (solutions with higher concentrations of ions) are me ...

, a chemical solution which is neither acidic nor basic *

Neutral particle In physics, a neutral particle is a particle with no electric charge, such as a neutron. The term ''neutral particles'' should not be confused with ''truly neutral particles'', the subclass of neutral particles that are also identical to their ow ...

, a particle without electrical charge

Mathematics

Neutral element In mathematics, an identity element, or neutral element, of a binary operation operating on a set is an element of the set that leaves unchanged every element of the set when the operation is applied. This concept is used in algebraic structures ...

or identity element, in mathematics, a special element with respect to a binary operation, such that if the operation is applied to any element in a set, that element is unchanged * Neutral vector, a multivariate random variable that exhibits a particular type of statistical independence (

Dirichlet distribution In probability and statistics, the Dirichlet distribution (after Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet), often denoted \operatorname(\boldsymbol\alpha), is a family of continuous multivariate probability distributions parameterized by a vector \boldsy ...

)

Philosophy

Neutrality (philosophy) Neutrality is the tendency not to ''side'' in a conflict (physical or ideological), which may not suggest neutral parties do not have a side or are not a side themselves. In colloquial use ''neutral'' can be synonymous with ''unbiased''. However, ...

, the absence of declared or intentional bias *

Neutrality (psychoanalysis) Neutrality is an essential part of the analyst's attitude during treatment,Janet Malcolm, ''Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession'' (1988) developed as part of the non-directive, evenly suspended listening which Freud used to complement the pat ...

* Neutral level, the physical or material traces of esthesic and poietic processes identified in semiotics

Politics

Neutral country A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of ...

, a polity such as a state that favors or supports none of the parties involved in a disagreement, conflict, or war

Political principles

* Neutral point of view, a stance or tone that is free from

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...

(see

journalistic objectivity Journalistic objectivity is a considerable notion within the discussion of journalistic professionalism. Journalistic objectivity may refer to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship, but most often encompasses all of these ...

) *

Gender neutrality Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...

, a principle which advocates

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

practices and behaviors which are neutral in regard to

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...

* Humanitarian neutrality, a principle governing humanitarian responses * Medical neutrality, a principle of noninterference with medical services in times of armed conflict and civil unrest *

Network neutrality Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of c ...

, a principle which advocates that all data on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

be treated equally *

Search neutrality Search neutrality is a principle that search engines should have no editorial policies other than that their results be comprehensive, impartial and based solely on relevance. This means that when a user types in a search engine query, the engine ...

, a principle that search engines should have no editorial policies other than that their results be comprehensive, impartial and based solely on relevance *

Neutrality (social choice) In social choice theory Social choice theory or social choice is a theoretical framework for analysis of combining individual opinions, preferences, interests, or welfares to reach a ''collective decision'' or ''social welfare'' in some sense. ...

, a principle that a voting rule should not discriminate apriori between candidates.

Other uses in politics

Neutrality of money Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction i ...

, the notion that a change in the supply of money in an economy has no tangible effects *

Neutral Nation The Neutral Confederacy (also Neutral Nation, Neutral people, or ''Attawandaron'' by neighbouring tribes) were an Iroquoian people who lived in what is now southwestern and south-central Ontario in Canada, North America. They lived throughout t ...

, a group of Native Americans *

Neutral Bajwa Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction i ...

, When an army chief surrenders on a threat letter from a foreign country by compromising country's sovereignty, is called neutral Bajwa

Technology

* Neutral (usually abbreviated "N"), the state where no gears are selected for a motor vehicle's

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission ** ...

Neutral wire Ground and neutral are circuit conductors used in alternating current electrical systems. The ground circuit is connected to earth, and neutral circuit is usually connected to ground. As the neutral point of an electrical supply system is often ...

, a conductor that provides a low impedance path to earth

Arts and media

* ''Neutrality'' (film), a 1949 Spanish drama * Neutral alignment, a categorization of the moral and ethical perspective of some characters, creatures and societies in some role-playing games **

Neutral (Dungeons & Dragons) In the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game, alignment is a categorization of the ethical and moral perspective of player characters, non-player characters, and creatures. Most versions of the game feature a system in which ...

, an alignment in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game * Neutral Records, a record label

Other uses

* Neutral, Kansas, a community in the United States * Neutral color, a description sometimes used to characterise the color gray