What does "polarizable" mean? I know polarizability is defined as the measure of the ease with which the electron cloud of an atom or molecule is distorted by an electric field. However, I am not sure how to word the definition of polarizable.
If the electron cloud is distorted so that one end of the molecule is more positive and the other end of the molecule is negative, that becomes a "polar" molecule. In the whole it is still neutral but it is polar because the positive and negative charges are separated. Hope that helps.
So to be polarizable means that two atoms can bond due to the attraction of opposite charges when the distortion of the electron cloud allows for the separation of positive and negative charges on each end of the molecule?
Sorry, I'm just a little confused....
Yes, polarisability just means that the + and - clouds can get separated which results in a polar molecules. Have you talked about hydrogen bonding yet. That's all due to polarizability. The water molecule is polar because the O end is slightly negative and the H end is slightly positive. So with the +H end of the H2O molecule gets close to a strongly negative cloud, such as the lone O of CH3COOH or other strongly negative ions (F, O. N) the water gets attracted. We call that H bonding and it changes some physical and chemical properties of some molecules. If you are still confused you may want to go on Google and type in polar bonds. You can type in hydrogen bonding and see how that works. You try first and if you can't find a site (I'm sure you can) I will try to look for you and copy a url to you.
To define polarizable, we can break down the term and describe it as follows:
Polarizable refers to the ability of an atom or molecule to undergo polarization, which is the distortion of its electron cloud in the presence of an electric field. It signifies how easily the electron cloud can be influenced or shifted when subjected to an external electric field.
To word the definition succinctly:
"Polarizable describes the property of an atom or molecule that indicates its susceptibility or tendency to experience distortion in its electron cloud when exposed to an electric field."
In this definition, it is important to understand that polarizability is a measure (or property) of an atom or molecule, while polarization is the actual distortion of the electron cloud caused by the electric field.