po·lar·i·za·tion (pōˌlər-ĭ-zāˈshən)

1. The production or condition of polarity.
2. A process or state in which rays of light exhibit different properties in different directions, especially the state in which all the vibration takes place in one plane.
3. The partial or complete polar separation of positive and negative electric charge in a nuclear, atomic, molecular, or chemical system.
4. The coating of an electrode with a thick layer of hydrogen bubbles, with the result that the flow of current is weakened or arrested.
5. The development of differences in potential between two points in living tissues, as between the inside and outside of the cell wall.