isotroopne

Isotroopne is an adjective used in science to describe properties that are the same in all directions, i.e., isotropic. The term comes from Greek roots meaning equal and turning, and in some languages such as Czech or Slovak it is written as isotroopné. In general, an isotropic property shows no directional dependence.

In physics and materials science, isotropy is contrasted with anisotropy, where properties vary with orientation. Many liquids and gases are isotropic because their microscopic structure is disordered and uniform in all directions. Amorphous solids like glass are also effectively isotropic, while crystalline materials often exhibit anisotropy because their internal structure repeats along specific directions. This affects mechanical strength, thermal conductivity, and other properties.

In optics, isotropic media have the same refractive index in every direction, so light propagates without direction-dependent splitting. By contrast, anisotropic crystals can split light into rays that travel at different speeds, a phenomenon known as birefringence.

In cosmology and geophysics, isotropy describes large-scale uniformity. The cosmological principle posits that the universe is approximately isotropic on grand scales, while local structures such as galaxies and crustal rocks can be anisotropic. Isotropy can be described mathematically using tensors, and the degree of isotropy is a practical measure of how much a material or system deviates from uniformity in all directions.