- polarography
- That branch of electrochemistry concerned with the variation in current flowing through a solution as the voltage is varied; this will vary with the ionic concentration of reducible substances so that p. can be used in chemical analysis. P. is commonly employed in the form of a reduction at a dropping mercury electrode. [Mod. L. polaris, polar, + G. grapho, to write]
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po·lar·og·ra·phy .pō-lə-'räg-rə-fē n, pl -phies a method of qualitative or quantitative analysis based on current-voltage curves obtained during electrolysis of a solution with a steadily increasing electromotive forcepo·laro·graph·ic pō-.lar-ə-'graf-ik adjpo·laro·graph·i·cal·ly -i-k(ə-)lē adv* * *
po·lar·og·ra·phy (po″lər-ogґrə-fe) an electrochemical technique for identifying and estimating the concentration of reducible elements by means of the dual measurement of the current flowing through an electrochemical cell (which contains the test solution) and the electrical potential between the two electrodes as the potential is increased at a constant rate by an external voltage source. As the voltage reaches the standard electrode potential of the test substance, there is a sharp increase in current flow. The indicator electrode is usually a dropping mercury electrode. polarographic adj
Medical dictionary. 2011.