The Isotropic reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Isotropic

Isotropic means "independent of 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.

Isotropic is also a concept in mathematics. Some manifolds are isotropic, meaning that the geometry on the manifold is the same regardless of direction. A similar concept is homogeneousness. A manifold can be homogeneous but not isotropic.

In radio, an isotropic antenna is an imaginary "device", used as a reference. Decibels relative to an isotropic antenna are expressed as dBi or dB(i).

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.

See also: anisotropic

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