polære

Polære is an adjective used in several European languages to denote polar or polarity, and it appears in a range of scientific terms. The root comes from the Latin polaris, and the form polære is common in Nordic languages to describe properties related to poles or to polarity. In many fields, polære is paired with nouns to indicate a specific polar characteristic, such as polære bindinger or polære koordinater.

In geography and earth science, polære areas refer to the polar regions around the North and South Poles. These areas—the Arctic and the Antarctic—are characterized by extreme cold, sea ice, unique ecosystems, and phenomena such as polar day and polar night.

In chemistry, polarity describes uneven distribution of electron density. Polære molekyler have a dipole moment due to differences in electronegativity, leading to partial charges within the molecule. Polære bindinger are covalent bonds with a significant charge separation. Water is a classic example of a polært, polar molecule, while many hydrocarbons are nonpolar or apolære.

In physics and optics, polarization concerns the orientation of light’s electric field. Polære materials can become polarized in an external field, and polarized light has applications in imaging, photography, and communications.

In mathematics, polære koordinater (polar coordinates) describe points by a distance from a reference point and an angle, rather than by Cartesian x and y coordinates. The exact spelling and usage vary by language.