po·lar·i·za·tion 
(pō′lər-ĭ-zāshən)
(pō′lər-ĭ-zāshən)n.
1. The production or condition of polarity, as:
a. 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.
b. The partial or complete polar separation of the positive and negative electric charges in a nuclear, atomic, molecular, or chemical system.
2. A division into two conflicting or contrasting groups.