Isotropy

You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.

Isotropy (the opposite of anisotropy) is the quality of a property which does not depend on the direction. Isotropic radiation has the same intensity regardless of the direction of measurement, and an isotropic field exerts the same action regardless of how the test particle is oriented.

• Cell biology: If the properties of the cell wall are more or less the same everywhere, it is said to be isotropic. The interior of the cell is anisotropic due to intracellular organelles.

• Physiology: In skeletal muscle cells (a.k.a. muscle fibers), the term "isotropic" refers to the light bands (I bands) that contribute to the striated pattern of the cells.

• Optics: Optical isotropy means having the same optical properties in all directions. The individual reflectance or transmittance of the domains is averaged if the macroscopic reflectance or transmittance is to be calculated. This can be verified simply by investigating, e.g., a polycrystalline material under a polarizing microscope having the polarizers crossed: If the crystallites are larger than the resolution limit, they will be visible.

See also

• Rotational invariance
• Isotropic bands
• Isotropic coordinates
• Transverse isotropybn:আইসোট্রপি

ca:Isotropia cs:Izotropie de:Isotropie et:Isotroopiafa:همسانگرد fr:Isotropie ko:등방성 it:Isotropia he:איזוטרופיות nl:Isotroop ja:等方性媒質sk:Izotropia fi:Isotropia sv:Isotrop