Editing Chemical polarity (section)

{{Short description|Separation of electric charge in a molecule}}
{{Redirect2|Polar molecule|Nonpolar|other uses of the term "Polar"|Polar (disambiguation){{!}}Polar}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2015}}
[[File:Water-elpot-transparent-3D-balls.png|thumb|right|250px|A [[water molecule]], a commonly used example of polarity. Two charges are present with a negative charge in the middle (red shade), and a positive charge at the ends (blue shade).]] In [[chemistry]], '''polarity''' is a separation of [[electric charge]] leading to a [[molecule]] or its [[chemical group]]s having an [[electric dipole moment]], with a negatively charged end and a positively charged end.

Polar molecules must contain one or more polar [[chemical bond|bonds]] due to a difference in [[electronegativity]] between the bonded atoms. Molecules containing polar bonds have no molecular polarity if the [[Bond dipole moment|bond dipoles]] cancel each other out by symmetry.

Polar molecules interact through dipole-dipole [[intermolecular force]]s and [[hydrogen bonds]]. Polarity underlies a number of physical properties including [[surface tension]], [[solubility]], and melting and boiling points.