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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|'''Harley Quinn:''' ''holding a raygun'' Don't come any closer, or I'll... (''reads label on her raygun'') reverse polarity!
''[[Beat|*Odd look*]]''
'''Harley Quinn:''' I don't know... [[Take That|but it always works on]] ''[[Star Trek|Star Quest]]''.
|''[[Gotham Girls]]'', "Cold Hands, Cold Heart"}}
When a major obstacle in a [[Science Fiction]] show is resolved purely through the judicious application of [[Techno Babble]], the characters have successfully Reversed the Polarity. It seems that every futuristic gadget or space ship subsystem performs some miraculous function if only you route the power through it ''backwards''. [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|Urban legend has it]] the expression originated on ''[[Doctor Who]]''. In reality, the phrase "Reverse the Polarity" [[Older Than They Think|can be traced back at least as far back as]] a [[Carl Barks]] comic in March 1961, and as mentioned below, ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'' in 1956 had "Stand by to reverse polarity" as an apparently standard procedure when landing the starship. However, it was popularized by ''[[Doctor Who]],'' as Jon Pertwee asked the writers for a simple piece of [[Techno Babble]] he could reliably deliver. The version most associated with the Third Doctor is "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow", although he [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|only said it once]] during his time as the Doctor.
A type of [[Applied Phlebotinum]], Reversing the Polarity is the be-all end-all technical solution for any problem. Usually only thought of at the very end of the show ("Captain... we could reverse the polarity of the positron toilet and send a stream of charged crap particles ''toward'' the Romulans, rather than ''away''..."). It always works. Always.
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Of course, you can "reverse the polarity" in real life — just put the battery in the other way round. Doesn't quite have the same effect, though. Most simple powered toy vehicles, electric toothbrushes and other devices that rely on a spinning electric motor will simply ''run backwards'' while more complex electronics with a DC power supply may even break or fry the device in question. This is why most "complex" devices nowadays are equipped with diodes, which keep the current from flowing backwards if the polarity is reversed, preventing damage to the main circuitry. Still, [[Don't Try This At Home]], kids!
Reversing the polarity on a car is also
Besides, it makes the characters in question look a lot less like brilliant scientists when they are (basically) sighing and asking the technician, "Did you plug it in the wrong way again? I mean, seriously. Red cable is positive. How hard can it possibly be to remember?"
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Of course you can't do this with neutrons, because they're as electrically neutral as the name suggests, although if we're getting technical, they do have a ''magnetic'' polarity. However, if the neutrons are ''flowing'' somewhere, reversing the polarity might refer to changing the direction of flow.
Closely related to the [[Forgotten Superweapon]]. Also see [[Techno Babble]] and [[Revive Kills Zombie]].
Compare to [[Now Do It Again Backwards]] and [[Tim Taylor Technology]]. ▼
▲Compare to [[Tim Taylor Technology]].
{{examples}}
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* This once happened in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'''s English dub when Team Rocket tried to get hold of two Luvdisc, and then reverse the polarity to get rid of all of the love in the world. [[Goldfish Poop Gang|This being Team Rocket]], it's pretty much an [[Affectionate Parody]] of the trope. The original version just has them wanting the Luvdisc captured for an ongoing Team Rocket project.
** In ''[[Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker]]'', Butler makes a machine that is supposed to create a live Groudon from its fossilized remains. When the machine creates an enormous evil monster instead, he is able to make the machine destroy Groudon by simply reversing the direction of the fossil and the levers.
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* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' episode "Honky Tonk Woman":
{{quote|She reversed the polarity of one of the missiles! It's coming right back at us!}}
* In episode 17 of the ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' TV series, Kohran puzzles over how to make Iris' ''kohbu'' properly handle her vast spirit energies, and comes up with an idea that, among other things, reverses the flow of her spirit energy through the regulator crystal.▼
== Comic Books ==
* Subverted in ''[[Runaways]]'': Victor Mancha (who is being held captive by the aforementioned group) attempts to escape by threatening Gertrude York with a ''remote'' that has had its "polarity reversed". The other Runaways scoff at the idea.
{{quote|'''Gertrude:''' Relax, people. He's a powerless kid holding a remote control.
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'''Molly:''' Yeah, right. Even '''I''' know he's tricking, and I dropped out of the '''fourth grade'''. }}
** Ironically, it might not be pretty... but really only for the remote. This is one of those things you don't try at home.
* A [[Carl Barks]] comic book in the [[Disney Ducks Comic Universe]] is the earliest recorded use of
{{quote|'''Engineer''': "I have to de-amp the resistor diodes to reverse the polarity of the potentiometers -- it's simple when you know how!"
'''Dewey''': We'll take your word for it, sir. }}
* [[Atomic Robo]]'s solution for sending the Vampires back the Vampire Dimension is to reverse polarity. Shockingly, the experiment that brought them into our world does not have a "reverse" option, causing Robo to declare that the feature is to be strict company policy from then on. Lampshade, thou art hung.
* In [[Marvel Comics]]' [[Comic Book Adaptation|adaptation]] of ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]'', the heroes' ship is targeted by Quintesson missiles. Kup's solution is to reverse the polarity, like he did against the Shrikebats of Dromedan. Hot Rod is afraid it will tear the ship apart.
** Decepticon missiles. And that was right from the movie, not just the adaptation.
* ''[[Buck Rogers]]''. [[Ur Example|Did it way more than]] ''[[Star Trek]]'' ever did, too.
* In ''[[Sonic the Comic]]'' Tails states lines involving this a few times, which is unusual since he isn't a [[Teen Genius|child genius]] in Fleetway's continuity.
* Zigzagged in [[Spider-Man]]'s part of the In the ''[[Acts of Vengeance]]'' arc, a [[Red Skies Crossover]]. Spider-Man (and pretty much everyone else) believes his newly attained cosmic powers are the result of [[Freak Lab Accident| a lab accident]] while testing a device invented by Empire University professor Max Lubisch; after watching Spider-Man defeat [[The Incredible Hulk| the Hulk]], the mutant villain [[X-Men| Sebastian Shaw]] is concerned about this, believing Spider-Man could become a dangerous enemy as a result, so he “convinces” (ie, blackmails) Lubisch into reversing the polarity on his device, and then using it on Spider-Man, hoping to nullify his powers. However, unbeknownst to everyone, Spidey’s cosmic powers are a result of him gaining the Uni-Power, as in [[Captain Universe]]. Lubisch’s machine had, in fact, [[Spanner in the Works| interfered with the Uni-Power]], resulting in Spidey gaining a fraction of the power and limited control over it. Shaw’s attempt with the modified device fixed the problem, granting Spider-Man the full power of Captain Universe. [[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain| And just in time, too]] - the Uni-Power is granted to mortals in order to combat a dangerous crisis, and the crisis in this case - the Tri-Sentinel attacking a nuclear power plant - had just reared its head.
== Films ==
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* In the original ''[[Spy Kids]]'', the heroes force a [[Heel Face Turn]] of the titular Spy Kids robots by reversing their alignment polarity. He does this by ''inverting the binary code''. While it probably would stop the robots from attacking, they would be more likely to crash then turn good. Of course, you can [[Never Say "Die"]] in a kids film, so...
* In ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'', Frederick reads from his [[Doctor Frankenstein|grandfather's]] book ''[[Fictional Document|How I Did It]]'':
{{quote|"'...until, from the midst of this darkness, a sudden light broke in upon me. A light so brilliant and wondrous and yet so simple. Change the poles from plus to minus and from minus to plus. I alone succeeded in discovering the secret of bestowing life. Nay, even more... I myself became capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter!' ...[[
** Some fans justify it in that, being at the end of the journal, we don't hear all of it. Basicly what if one neck bolt was positive and the other negative, and the first experiment got them wrong? For the second one, you would reverse the poles and it would then work.
* In possibly the earliest use of this trope, ''[[Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man]]'' (1943), Dr. Frankenstein's journal explains that the practically immortal monster can be killed by attaching him to the machine that gave him life and "changing the poles".
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* In the 1996 TV movie ''Gulliver's Travels'' Gulliver reversed the big magnet in the flying island to counter the plot of the people on the ground to crash the island by using another big magnet that attracts the island.
* Self-inflicted in ''[[Casino Royale 1967]]'' when a henchman with a crude battery-powered pacemaker is unplugged by Joanna Pettet's character. He frantically reconnects himself and gets the leads wrong, running backward at high speed.
* ''[[Apollo 13]]'': Justified. Shortly before re-entry they needed "four more amps" to power up the Command Module. They used a circuit intended to provide power from the Command Module to the Lunar Module to do the opposite.
* In ''[[Superman II]]'', Superman reverses the chamber that takes away Kryptonian powers. Instead of taking away the powers of the person inside the booth, it removes the powers from the three Kryptonians (Zod, Ursa and Non) standing around outside with Lois and Lex Luthor while he was safe inside. Lex Luthor even comments that "He switched it...".
* Data literally uses the phrase "Reverse the Polarity" concerning the magnetic door in ''[[Star Trek Generations]]''. Course, reversing the polarity on a magnetically-controlled door ''would'' open it. Go figure.
* In ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', the Ghostbusters defeat Gozer by crossing the energy streams from their proton packs. This, we are informed, will "reverse the particle flow through the gate." Naturally it works.
* In ''[[Cars]] 2'', Holley says this while trying to escape a death trap in the Big Bentley clock tower. On one hand, they at least keep it grounded in reality: once reversed, the only effect is the clock's motor and gear system running in reverse. On the other hand, she does it by shocking the motor with a Taser...
* ''[[Forbidden Planet]]''. Commander Adams orders a subordinate to "Stand by to reverse polarity" during the initial landing on Altair 4. In contrast to the description at the top of the page, this is indicated to be a usual part of landing the starship, '''not''' a way of fixing a disaster.
* One of the many reasons for which ''[[Fantastic Four (film)|Fantastic Four]]'' was criticized was its wham-tastic use of this trope. Reed is constantly spouting technobabble, and quite literally, his plan to return the Four to normal is to reverse the polarity of the cosmic rays that gave them their powers.
== Literature ==
* Subverted in one of the fiction-chapters of ''[[
** Also in ''Discworld'', there's a spell called the "Rite of Ashk
▲* Subverted in one of the fiction-chapters of ''[[Discworld/The Science of Discworld|The Science of Discworld]]''. After the Roundworld is transformed into a snowball (Ice Age), the Dean proposes (after four glasses of sherry) to "get [[Magitek|Hex]] to reverse the [[Magi Babble|thaumic flow]] in the cthonic matrix of the optimized bi-direction [[Arc Number|octagonate]]" to fix it. The Archchancellor replies that he would prefer a non-gibberish opinion.
* In [[Sandy Mitchell]]'s ''[[Warhammer
▲** Also in ''Discworld'', there's a spell called the "Rite of Ashk Ente" which summons Death to you, in order to partake in his wisdom. Alberto Malich thought that if the spell makes Death go to you, then performing it ''backwards'' would make Death go ''away''. However, he soon finds out that there is another way to consider the spell backwards: sending you directly to Death (which, oddly enough, worked out pretty well for him).
▲* In [[Sandy Mitchell]]'s ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' novel ''Scourge the Heretic'', the jury-rigged device to keep a machine going "reversed the polarity of the neutron flow" (a clear [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[Doctor Who]]'').
** Considering the amount of tropes invoked and subverted in the book and the fact that the above-mentioned machine simply ''didn't work'' due to the tampering, this can probably be considered deliberate.
* Kemren the "Purple Mage" in ''[[Thieves' World]]'' generated [[Mana]] by means of [[Magic From Technology|waterwheels]]. It gave him a lot of extra power, but running those waterwheels backwards was enough to beat him.
* In the ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' novel ''[[Ragnarok (noel)|Ragnarok]]'', the aliens of the week are using shields that automatically reverse
== Live-Action TV ==
* Similarly, the cast of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' once attempted to shake an alien monster off the satellite with a polarity-reversal maneuver; theirs involved an actual car battery and jumper cables. Also, the alien liked it.
* The ''[[CSI New York]]'' Season 1 finale had someone actually "reverse the polarity".
▲* In episode 17 of the ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' TV series, Kohran puzzles over how to make Iris' ''kohbu'' properly handle her vast spirit energies, and comes up with an idea that, among other things, reverses the flow of her spirit energy through the regulator crystal.
* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]''
** In the episode "That Which Survives", Spock orders Scotty to reverse the polarity of a "magnetic probe". Scotty's incredulous, "reverse polarity?!" qualifies as the [[Trope Namer]].
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** She also did actually get her homemade [[Applied Phlebotinum|naqadah]] reactor working by reversing the polarity of a [[Unobtanium|trinium]] plate in ''Learning Curve''. "Reversing the polarity" sounded more professional than "aw shit I put it in backwards".
** And in "200", during a [[Star Trek]] parody, Mitchell as [[The Captain]] asks Carter to reverse the polarity in an overly dramatic manner.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'', as mentioned above. Even LESS justified as it is often neutron flow that is
{{quote|'''The Doctor:''' Really shouldn't take that long to reverse the polarity. Must be out of practice.}}
** ''Doctor Who'' also provides a rare example of polarity reversal ''not'' working. When Nyssa and Tegan are rapidly aged every time the Doctor tried to take off the ship in ''Mawdryn Undead'' due to... something or other, the Fifth Doctor attempts to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow. This only causes them to de-age into children. [[MST3K Mantra|Try not to think about it.]]
*** The exact same thing happened to the Fourth Doctor, only it was a chicken turning into an egg, and it wasn't a
*** Parodied again in the new-series episode "The Almost People". An {{spoiler|exact duplicate of the Eleventh Doctor, called a 'ganger'}} is created. As he tries to process the Doctor's multiple regenerations, he goes a little weird; one point he says the "neutron flow" variety, only a few lines later to say, using Four's voice; "Would you like a [[Trademark Favourite Food|jellybaby]]?" and then, in Eleven's voice, ''"Reverse the jellybaby of the neutron flow!"''
** The Doctor's sonic screwdriver once had its polarity reversed to turn it into an electromagnet and draw back a heavy bolt.
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** In "The Moonglow Affair", Solo and Kuryakin are poisoned with deadly radiation from a THRUSH ray gun. To cure them, [[Poorly-Disguised Pilot|substitute agent]] [[The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.|April Dancer]] must obtain the ray gun so that UNCLE scientists can reverse the polarity and shoot our heroes with it again.
* Reversing the polarity of the [[Lexx]]'s main drive causes an EMP of sufficient power to fry any circuits on or near the ship.
* ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'': "Ranger Blue"
** In the ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' episode "Opposites Attract", the [[Robeast|magnet-themed]] ''monster'' did this trick to sabotage the Rangers' weapons. He could also cause a "polarity switch" for individual people and Angel Grove as a whole. What this actually meant apparently involved a [[Screen Shake]] and some storm effects.
* Spoofed in ''[[Kyle XY]]'', when Josh tells a drunken Kyle to sober up by "reversing the polarity of his liver". Kyle goes offscreen, vomits, and comes back sober, saying that he took Josh's advice. It's hard to say whether he was joking or not.
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* Reversed polarity is apparently how the anomaly-locking device on ''[[Primeval]]'' works.
* In ''[[Smallville]]'', a villain with magnetic powers pushes a car at Clark Kent. Clark catches the car, then uses a live wire to electrify it. Somehow, this causes the villain's "repel" to change to "attract", and he's pulled into the car and defeated.
* In the 1960's ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' episode "Better Luck Next Time", Batman reverses the polarity on his belt communicator in order to create an ultrasonic signal to drive away a tiger. It was shown on March
* In ''[[Emergency]]'', there is a factory worker with his arm caught in a feeding hopper of a machine and Dr. Brackett is rushing over to have it amputated to save his life. However while he is en route, the paramedics come up with a better idea: they work with the factory's engineers and rewire the machine to make the hopper work in reverse to free the worker instead. Just as Dr. Brackett arrives, the modification is finished and they are able to free him instantly.
* In ''[[Sliders]]'' Season 2, Episode 3: Gillian of the Spirts, Quinn (via a spirit medium, the titular Gillian) instructs Arturo how to fix the timer by reversing the polarity. It might have been brought up other times in the show, I don't know, who cares?
== Music ==
* A popular filk song, "The USS Make Shit Up" by [[Voltaire (
* A musical example is in Bob Carlton's -- sorry, [[William Shakespeare]]'s -- ''Return to the [[Forbidden Planet]]''. Before the show starts, the 'crew' or ensemble members walk out and instruct the audience in standard safety procedures for their flight (air masks will deploy from ceiling, use of cell phones will cause the ship to explode, etc.) and end with teaching the audience how to Reverse Polarity
** As an added bonus, at the end of the show, as the crew and captain prepare to launch back to Earth (singing ''Born to Be Wild'', of course), crew members announce that all is well by calling "Iambics functioning, Pentameters locked in, Hyperboles all off the scale!" and "R.S.C. jettisoned", [[In
** Many of the posters (and T-shirts) for the show consist of a warning sign saying "''WARNING: Do not reverse polarity!''", and the playbill warns of the dangers of polarity reversal in space. Note that it is never actually specified ''what'' the polarity is reversed on, just that polarity in general is reversed - which makes the joke even more tongue-in-cheek...
* Pops up in the [[Rush]] song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsj_FRBNrZE "Vital Signs"].
== Radio ==▼
* Lampshaded nicely in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' BBC Radio drama ''The Ghosts of N-Space'', in which the Brigadier jokingly suggests that the (Third) Doctor "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow", to which the Doctor replies that the Brig knows as well as he does that the phrase is meaningless.▼
* The ''[[Torchwood]]'' radio play "Lost Souls" plays this trope entirely straight, with the world saved from disaster by reversing the polarity of the positron flow. CERN apparently approved the science, and the impression is the writer was delighted to have found a context where the phrase ''actually made sense''.▼
== Tabletop Games ==
* According to the ''[[Star Trek]]'' d6 RPG sourcebooks, reversing the polarity in different ways on the main deflector array can create a low power phaser, force someone out of warp, and allow you to [[New Powers as the Plot Demands|basically do ANYTHING you could think of]]. The Main Deflector Array; [[Swiss Army Weapon]] of the Federation. In fact players are encouraged to come up with [[Techno Babble]] explanations for whatever it is they are trying to do.
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' made a card for "Reverse Polarity"
* ''[[Paranoia]]'' adventure "'The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues''. The Maxwell-Effect Moleculokinesic Field Device is basically a Pyrokinesis gun (e.g. it acts like a flamethrower). 50% of the time it fires at reverse polarity and freezes the target.
*
== Video Games ==
▲== Radio ==
▲* Lampshaded nicely in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' BBC Radio drama ''The Ghosts of N-Space'', in which the Brigadier jokingly suggests that the (Third) Doctor "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow", to which the Doctor replies that the Brig knows as well as he does that the phrase is meaningless.
▲* The ''[[Torchwood]]'' radio play "Lost Souls" plays this trope entirely straight, with the world saved from disaster by reversing the polarity of the positron flow. CERN apparently approved the science, and the impression is the writer was delighted to have found a context where the phrase ''actually made sense''.
* In ''[[Freedom Force]] vs. the Third Reich'', Sky King gets his jetpack to work and saves the day after Bullet tells him to reverse the polarity on his neutrino pack. Bullet is from the future and knew this from reading the Sky King comic books written after Sky King got his jetpack to work, but causality sucks anyway.
* It turns this is the way to reconnect Clockwerk's body in ''[[Sly Cooper|Sly]] 2''.
* In ''[[Ikaruga]]'', polarity reversing is a gameplay mechanic. White polarity absorbs white bullets, and does double damage to black targets. Black polarity does the opposite.
* ''[[Space Quest]]'' 5 has you "reverse the phase polarity of the interface grid" multiple times throughout the game.
* The ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' franchise has [https://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Reverse_Polarity a recurring ability] by this name, which switches the 'rows' that the party occupies - front row characters are moved to the back row and vice versa.
* The video game adaptation of the ''[[Death Gate]]'' novels uses [[Magi Babble]] instead of [[Techno Babble]], but the principle remains the same. There's no point to casting a spell that sets you on
* ''[[Star Trek Online]]'' actually has a skill called "Reverse Shield Polarity" that causes energy weapons to increase the shields instead of damaging them.
* At the end of ''[[Ratchet and Clank]] 2'', {{spoiler|Angela's anti-Protopet weapon turns the Protopet into a giant monster. When she attempts to figure out what went wrong, Clank points out that the battery is in backwards.}}
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind]]'' makes a reference to this trope in a [http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Itermerel%27s_Notes certain mage's notes]:
{{quote|By reconfiguring the polarity of the daedron fields, it is possible to manipulate and trace the streams in the following cases...}}
* Your [[Mission Control]] in ''[[Vanquish]]'' says this word for word. But in that case, you're just trying to make a [[Humongous Mecha]]'s giant energy cannon blow up.
* The Apple II version of ''[[Karateka]]'' has [https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=LVqSHLjiJCA an upside-down version of the game on the b side] so tech support could tell people it's like that because the game is inserted upside down.
== Web Comics ==
* At least ''[[Narbonic]]''{{'}}s [[Genre Savvy]] Dave Davenport knows he's appealing to the [[Theory of Narrative Causality]]: "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131101032008/http://www.webcomicsnation.com/users/narbonic/111005about_for.jpg Sometimes it helps, for some reason]".▼
▲* At least [[Narbonic]]'s [[Genre Savvy]] Dave Davenport knows he's appealing to the [[Theory of Narrative Causality]]: "[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/users/narbonic/111005about_for.jpg Sometimes it helps, for some reason]".
* Referenced in [http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/6/6/ this] ''[[Penny Arcade]]'' comic.
* [[Irregular Webcomic|Serron]] suggests reversing the polarity [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2201.html of something].
* ''[[Keychain of Creation]]'' has Misho point out the implausibility of this: "[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0148.html SOL DAMNIT THAT SHOULDN'T DO ANYTHING EVEN IF IT IS POSSIBLE!]"
* Lampshaded in [[Doctor Who]] [[Fanfic]] Webcomic [[
{{quote|3: Perhaps if we reverse the polarity of--
2: Oh, that's your answer to everything! }}
* Done [http://exterminatusnow.comicgenesis.com/d/20100926.html here] in [[Exterminatus Now]], to shut down the Void. Complete with references to both [[Star Trek]], Ghostbusters, and a [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshade.]]
* Used in ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'', [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=856 here]. Annie is trying to fake a [[Relationship-Salvaging Disaster]], and her lack of tech-savvy shows.
== Web Originals ==
* Yaeger has to do this to the Gravity Engine in ''[[The Mercury Men]]'' to put the moon back in its proper orbit.
* This is #4 of ''[[Cracked.com|Cracked]]'''s [http://www.cracked.com/article_17392_6-sci-fi-movie-conventions-that-need-to-die.html 6 Sci-Fi Movie Conventions (That Need to Die)].
== Western Animation ==
* Reversing the polarity of energy sources was one of the many plot convenient things Penny's computer book could do on ''[[Inspector Gadget]]''.
* IQ in the ''[[James Bond Jr.]]'' cartoon also reverses the polarity all the time. He once took control of the bad guy's helicopter with a simple remote control and some polarity reversal.
** One episode had James himself perform probably the most ludicrous variation ever: In the beginning of the episode, James berates IQ for not fixing his digital watch which for some reason has started counting ''backwards''. Later, James is locked in a room with a doomsday device set to go off. What does he do? He uses some ''pieces of wire'' to ''connect the watch to the device's timer'' and lo and behold, the watch starts working normally ''and the timer starts counting backwards''.
* It also happened in ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' all the time, and probably plenty of other cartoons where people tinker with electronics.
** A particularly memorable from ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' occurs when some ghosts get their hands on a proton
** In another episode where the Ghostbusters are trapped in an old movie studio and about to be blasted with their own packs, Ray reverses the PKE Meter to ''send'' signals to ghosts. It causes ghosts of the studio's hero characters to appear and save the day.
** In an episode of ''[[Extreme Ghostbusters]]'', the team was faced with a ghost that multiplied whenever the proton packs were used against it. They overcame this by [[Did Not Do the Research|converting them into]] ''[[Did Not Do the Research|electron]]'' [[Did Not Do the Research|packs]].
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* In the ''[[Kim Possible]]'' episode "Clean Slate", reversing the polarity on a memory-enhancement device causes it to erase Kim's memories.
** The device adapted to switch heroes and villains between good and evil is even called the "Reverse Polarizer".
* In ''[[The Tick (animation)]] Vs Reno, Nevada'', Arthur is asked to reverse the polarity on a fish magnet. He finds two cables, blue and red, and a box with two similar a big label saying "Observe Correct Polarity. Use AC current", and two colored sockets. Arthur puts the cables in the wrong sockets, which seems to work, despite the obvious AC current issue.
* In ''[[The New Adventures of Superman]]'', reversing the polarity of an electric charge transferred the powers of the episode's villain (and some other guy) back to Superman... After they got them from him through an electric shock.
* This is the solution to many a kink in Jimmy's machines in ''[[Jimmy Neutron]]'', [[Did Not Do the Research|whether it makes sense or not]].
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* ''[[Superfriends]]'' 1973/74 episode "The Shamon U". Professor Shamon reverses the polarity on his giant electromagnet to repel the Batmobile instead of attracting it.
* ''[[The Herculoids]]'' episode "Revenge of the Pirates". Zok does it with his laser [[Eye Beams]] to neutralize a force field.
== Real Life ==
* When a phone exchange fails to hang up on a land line, what do you do? Polarity Reversal!
* A certain model of text message pager made by Motorola and [https://web.archive.org/web/20140704094040/http://content.arch.com/userguides/guides/UnicationP900UserGuide.pdf Unication] can be cleared from certain faults by removing and re-inserting the single AA battery in reverse to the normal installation for about 15 seconds, then removing it and installing it normally again.
* [[Antimatter]] is normal matter with
** Every particle also spins into the opposite direction as their normal counterpart. Combining both gets you a real-life [[Yin-Yang Bomb]].
* Technical support sometimes ask people to reverse the wire. Of course, this is just a subtle way of making sure the customer has the danged thing actually plugged in.
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* Reversing the Polarity of one speaker of a stereo sound system can have real effects. This happens because waveforms that are 180 degrees out of phase will cancel each other out. The listener will usually hear this as weakened bass response. Of course, this only works once: "My stereo sounded much better when I reversed the polarity on the left speaker. I can't wait to hear how much better it will sound when I reverse the right speaker too!"
** This can also serve as a simple way of converting mono to stereo. Take a mono sound file, put your sound editor into stereo mode, then invert one of the channels. Quick surround sound. Mind you, it only works well with headphones, and if the resulting file is converted to mono again, silence will result.
*** Which is how noise
* Live sound reinforcement mixing consoles have a "phase" switch on every input which is really just a
* Converting a voltage follower with gain into a comparator with hysteresis is as simple as reversing the polarity of the amplifier.
* In classical Chinese thought, if the Yellow River runs clear when it should be muddy, or muddy when it should be clear or anything that should be Yin is Yang (or vice versa), it is considered an omen that the ruling dynasty has lost the [[wikipedia:Mandate of Heaven|Mandate of Heaven]]. Reversing the polarity, in other words, is an omen of DOOOM!
* The Earth literally reverses the polarity of its magnetic field every couple of hundred thousand years. Scientists are not entirely sure what happens to life when it happens, but you can bet it will be the solution to ''somebody's'' problem.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_electrophoresis
**
* Diodes pass current in one direction, while blocking it from going the other way.
* Thermal optics can also reverse polarity. Doing so switches between White Hot and Black Hot (Meaning that heat shows up as white or black, respectively.)
* In an MRI, the spinning dipoles slowly come out of sync with each other over time, which makes it difficult to observe them. The solution is to use a burst of radiation to reverse the polarity of the spin, which means that all the dipoles will sync up again after the same amount of time between the initial burst and the polarity reversal. This process can be repeated until other sources of error eventually overwhelm the signal.
* Permanent-magnet DC motors spin in the opposite direction when their power source is reversed. For 3-phase AC motors, this is achieved by swapping two of the phases.
* Electrolytic coating. If the given polarity makes a metal condense on the electrode, the reversed current will dissolve it back.
* Vascular plants get rid of air bubbles in the xylem by reversing the flow of water during the night.
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[[Category:Applied Phlebotinum]]
▲[[Category:Reverse Polarity]]
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