Polarization or polarisation may refer to:
Mathematics
*Polarization of an
Abelian variety
In mathematics, particularly in algebraic geometry, complex analysis and algebraic number theory, an abelian variety is a projective algebraic variety that is also an algebraic group, i.e., has a group law that can be defined by regular functi ...
, in the mathematics of complex manifolds
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Polarization of an algebraic form, a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by adjoining more variables
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Polarization identity, expresses an inner product in terms of its associated norm
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Polarization (Lie algebra) In representation theory, polarization is the maximal Isotropic quadratic form, totally isotropic subspace of a certain skew-symmetric bilinear form on a Lie algebra. The notion of polarization plays an important role in construction of Irreducible ...
Physical sciences
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Polarization (waves)
Polarization ( also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of ...
, the ability of waves to oscillate in more than one direction, in particular polarization of light, responsible for example for the glare-reducing effect of polarized sunglasses
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Polarization (antenna)
In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies a ...
, the state of polarization (in the above sense) of electromagnetic waves transmitted by or received by a radio antenna
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Dielectric polarization, charge separation in insulating materials:
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Polarization density
In classical electromagnetism, polarization density (or electric polarization, or simply polarization) is the vector field that expresses the density of permanent or induced electric dipole moments in a dielectric material. When a dielectric i ...
, volume dielectric polarization
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Dipolar polarization
In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an electrical insulator that can be polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the mate ...
, orientation of permanent dipoles
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Ionic polarization, displacement of ions in a crystal
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Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars polarization, slow long-distance charge separation in dielectric spectroscopy on inhomogeneous soft matter
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Polarization (electrochemistry), a change in the equilibrium potential of an electrochemical reaction
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Concentration polarization, the shift of the electrochemical potential difference across an electrochemical cell from its equilibrium value
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Spin polarization
Spin polarization is the degree to which the spin, i.e., the intrinsic angular momentum of elementary particles, is aligned with a given direction. This property may pertain to the spin, hence to the magnetic moment, of conduction electrons in fer ...
, the degree by which the spin of elementary particles is aligned to a given direction
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Polarizability
Polarizability usually refers to the tendency of matter, when subjected to an electric field, to acquire an electric dipole moment in proportion to that applied field. It is a property of all matter, considering that matter is made up of elementar ...
, an electrical property of atoms or molecules and a separate magnetic property of subatomic particles
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Polarization function
In theoretical chemistry, theoretical and computational chemistry, a basis set is a set of Function (mathematics), functions (called basis functions) that is used to represent the Wave function, electronic wave function in the Hartree–Fock metho ...
, a feature of some molecular modelling methods
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Photon polarization
Photon polarization is the quantum mechanical description of the classical polarized sinusoidal plane electromagnetic wave. An individual photon
can be described as having right or left circular polarization, or a superposition of the two. E ...
, the mathematical link between wave polarization and spin polarization
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Vacuum polarization, a process in which a background electromagnetic field produces virtual electron-positron pairs
Social sciences
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Polarization (economics) Economists refer to the polarization of the labor force when middle-class jobs—requiring a moderate level of skills, like autoworkers’ jobs—seem to disappear relative to those at the bottom, requiring few skills, and those at the top, requirin ...
, faster decrease of moderate-skill jobs relative to low-skill and high-skill jobs
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Political polarization
Political polarization (spelled ''polarisation'' in British English) is the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes.
Most discussions of polarization in political science consider polarization in the c ...
, when public opinion divides and becomes oppositional
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Social polarization
Social polarization is the segregation within a society that emerges when factors such as income inequality, real-estate fluctuations and economic displacement result in the differentiation of social groups from high-income to low-income. It is a ...
, segregation of society into social groups, from high-income to low-income
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Group polarization
In social psychology, group polarization refers to the tendency for a group to make decisions that are more extreme than the initial inclination of its members. These more extreme decisions are towards greater risk if individuals' initial tendenci ...
, tendency of a group to make more extreme decisions than individuals' initial inclinations
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Attitude polarization, when disagreement becomes more extreme as different parties consider evidence
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Racial polarization, when a population with varying ancestry is divided into distinct racial groups
Others
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''Polarization'' (album), an album by American jazz trombonist and composer Julian Priester
*Polarization, in many disciplines, is a tendency to be located close to one of the opposite ends of a
continuum
See also
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Polar (disambiguation)
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Polar opposite (disambiguation)
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Polarity (disambiguation)
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Pole (disambiguation)
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Reversal (disambiguation)
{{Disambiguation