What are anisotropes?

Answer 1

Anisotropy is the property of being directionally dependent, as opposed to isotropy, which means homogeneity in all directions. It can be defined as a difference in a physical property (absorbance, refractive index, density, etc.) for some material when measured along different axes. An example is the light coming through a polarising lens. A chemical anisotropic filter, as used to filter particles, is a filter with increasingly smaller interstitial spaces in the direction of filtration so that the proximal regions filter out larger particles and distal regions increasingly remove smaller particles, resulting in greater flow-through and more efficient filtration.

Answer 2

Anisotropes are substances that exhibit different physical properties along different axes, such as electrical conductivity or refractive index. This anisotropy is due to the internal structure of the material not being uniform in all directions. Examples include crystals, liquid crystals, and some polymers.