Radical
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Radical is derived from the Latin word radix, which means "root". In various fields of endeavor, it can mean:
- Sciences
- in chemistry, either an atom or molecule with at least one unpaired electron, or a group of atoms, charged or uncharged, that act as a single entity in reaction. These two definitions are not functionally identical. (see radical (chemistry)).
- in mathematics:
- the n-th radical or root of a number a, written as
![\sqrt[n]{a}](/w/images/math/9a2b6d33f3d62a1e8bd99c76f3cb79f5.png)
, which is a number whose n-th power is a (see radical (mathematics)).
- the radical of an algebraic group is a concept in algebraic group theory.
- the radical of an ideal is an important concept in abstract algebra.
- the n-th radical or root of a number a, written as
- in linguistics, a radical consonant involves the root of the tongue.
- in grammatology, it is part of a Chinese character (see radical (Chinese character)).
- Social sciences
- in sociology:
- one who advocates thoroughgoing analysis or change "at the root"
- in politics:
- can refer to a supporter of a revolutionary social movement
- can refer to a counterpart to reactionary; see Radical Republican
- can refer to member of a Radical Party
- can refer to a progressive liberal, like e.g. the Radicals, a group of left-wing MPs in the 19th-century British Parliament
fr:Radical io:Radiko nl:Radicaal pt:Radical
