Look up ideal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Ideal may refer to:

• Ideal (ethics), principles or values that one actively pursues as goals
• Platonic ideal, a philosophical idea of trueness of form, associated with Plato

In mathematics

• Ideal (ring theory), special subsets of a ring considered in abstract algebra
• Ideal (order theory), special kind of lower sets of an order
• Ideal (set theory), a collection of sets regarded as "small" or "negligible"

In science

• Ideal chain, in science, the simplest model describing a polymer
• Ideal gas law, in physics, governing the pressure of an ideal gas
• Ideal transformer, an electrical transformer having zero resistance and perfect magnetic threading
• Ideal final result, in TRIZ methodology, the best possible solution
• Ideality (Phrenology), in phrenology, the disposition towards refinement and perfection
• Thought experiment, sometimes called an ideal experiment

Entertainment

• Ideal (TV series), a British situation comedy
• Ideal (band), late 1990s/2000s American R&B group
• Ideal (German band), early 1980s German rock group
• Ideal Toy Company, a now defunct toy company

Other uses

• IDEAL Scholars Fund, an American scholarship program for underrepresented students
• Ideal, Georgia, a community in the United States

See also

• Idealism (disambiguation)
• Idea

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