Polarographs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Instruments that record the electric current produced by a solution as the voltage applied to it is steadily varied, used in chemical analysis
2. Devices which chart how current changes with applied voltage in an electrolytic cell, helping chemists identify and measure substances
3. Apparatus used in electrochemical analysis to plot current against voltage so that dissolved substances can be detected and quantified

Etymology: "Polarographs" is simply the plural of "polarograph", an instrument used in chemistry to measure the electrical current produced when a solution is subjected to a changing voltage. The singular is the name of the device itself, so the plural refers to several of them, and the word is built from the familiar roots "polar" and "-graph", a pattern that makes the instrument's purpose fairly transparent: it draws or records a picture of how a substance responds to electrical polarization.