| polar solvents | Solvent's that exhibit polar forces on solutes, due to high dipole moment, wide separation of charges, or tight association; e.g., water, alcohols, acids. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| amphiprotic solvent | A solvent capable of acting as an acid or a base; e.g., H2O. See: solvolysis. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| solvent | 1. <chemistry> Dissolving, effecting a solution. 2. A liquid that dissolves or that is capable of dissolving, the component of a solution that is present in greater amount. Origin: L. Solvens (18 Nov 1997) |
| solvent drag | The influence exerted by a flow of solvent through a membrane on the simultaneous movement of a solute through the membrane. (05 Mar 2000) |
| solvent ether | A fairly pure form of ether (C4H10O) but not sufficiently pure for anaesthesia; used as a solvent. (05 Mar 2000) |
| solvent extraction | A method of separation used to purify vegetable oils. (05 Dec 1998) |
| solvent inhalation | Inhalation of volatile organic solvents used in glue, nail polish remover, lacquer thinners, cleaning fluid, lighter fluid, and gasoline, for the purpose of self-intoxication. See: glue-sniffing. (05 Mar 2000) |
| universal solvent | A substance sought by the alchemists, and claimed by some to have been found, supposedly capable of dissolving all substances; sometimes, in a physiological sense, applied to water. (05 Mar 2000) |
| polar | Describes a feature or phenomenon occuring at the end (pole) of an object (such as a planet) or organism (such as an amoeba). <chemistry> Describes a molecular that has a permanent electric dipole. See: polar group. Compare: nonpolar, nonpolar groups. (12 Mar 1998) |
| polar amino acid | An alpha-amino acid in which the functional group attached to the alpha-carbon (i.e., R in RCH(NH2)COOH) has hydrophilic properties; e.g., serine, cysteine, homocysteine. (05 Mar 2000) |
| polar anaemia | A form of anaemia sometimes observed in natives of temperate climates when they migrate to the Arctic or Antarctic regions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| polar body | <cell biology> In animals each meiotic division of the oocyte leads to the formation of one large cell (the egg) and a small polar body as the other cell. Polar body formation is a consequence of the very eccentric position of the nucleus and the spindle. (18 Nov 1997) |
| polar cataract | A capsular cataract limited to an area of the anterior or posterior pole of the lens. (05 Mar 2000) |
| polar cell | <cell biology> In animals each meiotic division of the oocyte leads to the formation of one large cell (the egg) and a small polar body as the other cell. Polar body formation is a consequence of the very eccentric position of the nucleus and the spindle. (18 Nov 1997) |
| polar compound | A compound in which the electric charge is not symmetrically distributed, so that there is a separation of charge or partial charge and formation of definite positive and negative poles; e.g., H2O. See also inorganic compound. (05 Mar 2000) |
| polar fibres | Those fibres of the mitotic spindle extending from the two poles of the spindle toward the equator. Compare: astral fibres, kinetochore fibres. (05 Mar 2000) |