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Physics 14 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

Which objects can be electrically polarized? a.negatively charged object b. positively charged objects c. neutral objects d. both positive and negatively charge object

OpenStudy (anonymous):

You're probably meant to answer d, since polarization consists of having charge unevenly distributed on an object. One easy way to achieve that is to have positive charge on one side, and negative on the other. However, just as an aside, the correct answer is any of the four, because any object other than a point charge can be polar. You could have an object with an overall positive charge (like an atomic cation, Na+) that is polarized, or an object with an overall negative charge (like an atomic anion, F-) that is polarized, or an object with an overall charge of zero (like a neutral atom, Ar) that is polarized. What matters is just that the object isn't a point object (of diameter zero) so you can move the charge around, and that the charge isn't evenly distributed, as it would be on a conductor. With those two features, an object can be polarized.

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