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 smooth Algebraic variety#Projective variety, projective algebraic variety that is also an algebraic group, i.e., has a group ...

, in the mathematics of complex manifolds *

Polarization of an algebraic form In mathematics, in particular in algebra, polarization is a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by adjoining more variables. Specifically, given a homogeneous polynomial, polarization produces a unique symmetric ...

, a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by adjoining more variables *

Polarization identity In linear algebra, a branch of mathematics, the polarization identity is any one of a family of formulas that express the inner product of two vectors in terms of the norm of a normed vector space. If a norm arises from an inner product t ...

, expresses an inner product in terms of its associated norm * Polarization (Lie algebra)

Physical sciences

Polarization (physics) , or , is a property of transverse waves which 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 wave. One example of a polariz ...

, the ability of waves to oscillate in more than one direction; polarization of light allows the glare-reducing effect of polarized sunglasses **

Polarization (antenna) In radio-frequency engineering, an antenna (American English) or aerial (British English) is an electronic device that converts an alternating electric current into radio waves (transmitting), or radio waves into an electric current (receivi ...

, the state of polarization (in the above sense) of electromagnetic waves transmitted by or received by a radio antenna * Dielectric polarization, charge separation in insulating materials: **

Polarization density In classical electromagnetism, polarization density (or electric polarization, or simply polarization) is the vector field that expresses the volumetric density of permanent or induced electric dipole moments in a dielectric material. When a die ...

, volume dielectric polarization ** Dipolar polarization, orientation of permanent dipoles ** Ionic polarization, displacement of ions in a crystal **

Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars polarization In dielectric spectroscopy, large frequency dependent contributions to the dielectric response, especially at low frequencies, may come from build-ups of charge. This Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars polarization (or often just Maxwell–Wagner polarizat ...

, slow long-distance charge separation in dielectric spectroscopy on inhomogeneous soft matter *

Polarization (electrochemistry) In electrochemistry, polarization is a collective term for certain mechanical side-effects (of an electrochemical process) by which isolating barriers develop at the interface between electrode and electrolyte. These side-effects influence the rea ...

, a change in the equilibrium potential of an electrochemical reaction *

Concentration polarization Concentration polarization is a term used in the scientific fields of electrochemistry and membrane science. In electrochemistry In electrochemistry, concentration polarization denotes the part of the polarization of an electrolytic cell resultin ...

, the shift of the electrochemical potential difference across an electrochemical cell from its equilibrium value *

Spin polarization In particle physics, 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 co ...

, the degree by which the spin of elementary particles is aligned to a given direction *

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 particles with an electric charge. When subject to an elect ...

, an electrical property of atoms or molecules and a separate magnetic property of subatomic particles ** Polarization function, a feature of some molecular modelling methods *

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. ...

, the mathematical link between wave polarization and spin polarization *

Vacuum polarization In quantum field theory, and specifically quantum electrodynamics, vacuum polarization describes a process in which a background electromagnetic field produces virtual electron–positron pairs that change the distribution of charges and curr ...

, a process in which a background electromagnetic field produces virtual electron-positron pairs *

Polarization (cosmology) According to the standard Big Bang theory, the Timeline of the early universe, early universe was sufficiently hot for all the matter in it to be fully ionised. Under these conditions, electromagnetic radiation was scattered very efficiently by m ...

, mechanisms for detecting astronomical polarization and the possible natural origins

Social sciences

* Polarization (economics), faster decrease of moderate-skill jobs relative to low-skill and high-skill jobs *

Political polarization Political polarization (spelled ''polarisation'' in British English, Australian English, and New Zealand English) is the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes. Scholars distinguish between ideologi ...

, when public opinion divides and becomes oppositional **

Bipolarisation Bipolarisation or bipolarization (American English) in politics, is a state where forces are organized around two rival powers, neither of which can dominate the other. Its application as a model for international relations has given rise to dive ...

, two sides of opposition *

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 *

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 **

Attitude 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 ...

, when disagreement becomes more extreme as different parties consider evidence *

Racial polarization Racial polarization is the process whereby a population of individuals with different ancestry is divided into separate and distinct racial groups. Bermuda In Bermuda, around 55% of the population is identified as black, followed by 34% white (f ...

, when a population with varying ancestry is divided into distinct racial groups

Others

* ''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

Mathematics

Physical sciences

Social sciences

Others

See also