News tagged with ionization
Screening for breast cancer without X-rays: Lasers and sound merge in promising diagnostic technique
X-ray mammography is an important diagnostic tool in the fight against breast cancer, but it has certain drawbacks that limit its effectiveness. For example, it can give in false positive and negative results; ...
May 07, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Proteomics identifies targets of ionizing radiation in a human skin model
(Phys.org) -- How better to find out what effect ionizing radiation has on human skin than by using the real thing? Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory did that by performing a quantitative ...
Apr 24, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
New detector design improves gamma-ray measurements
(Phys.org) -- In the pursuit of precision measurements, nothing is simple, even when the apparatus employed appears to be utterly uncomplicated. An instructive case in point is the new ionization chamber used ...
Apr 06, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
|
Generating first-ever controlled ultrafast radiation, using a plasma
To observe ultrarapid phenomena such as the motion of electrons within matter, researchers need sources capable of producing extremely fast and energetic light radiation. Although devices capable of emitting ...
Apr 05, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
Laser lightning rod: Guiding bursts of electricity with a flash of light
Lightning is a fascinating but dangerous atmospheric phenomenon. New research reveals that brief bursts of intense laser light can redirect these high-power electrical discharges.
Mar 13, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (14) |
20
|
Hubble mosaic of the Galactic center
(PhysOrg.com) -- This NASA Hubble Space Telescope infrared mosaic image represents the sharpest survey of the Galactic Center to date. It reveals a new population of massive stars and new details in complex ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 10, 2011 |
5 / 5 (7) |
4
Clocking the mosh pit of interstellar space
(PhysOrg.com) -- The space between the stars in the Milky Way and all other galaxies is full of dust and gas, the raw materials from which stars and planets are made.
Oct 05, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (5) |
1
|
New discovery sheds light on the ecosystem of young galaxies
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists, led by Michael Rauch from the Carnegie Observatories, has discovered a distant galaxy that may help elucidate two fundamental questions of galaxy formation: How galaxies ...
Aug 29, 2011 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
0
|
Astrophysicists identify missing fuel for galactic star formation
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Milky Way will have the fuel to continue forming stars, thanks to massive clouds of ionized gas raining down from its halo and intergalactic space. This is the conclusion of a new study ...
Aug 25, 2011 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
10
|
Melanin's 'trick' for maintaining radioprotection studied
Sunbathers have long known that melanin in their skin cells provides protection from the damage caused by visible and ultraviolet light. More recent studies have shown that melanin, which is produced by multitudes of the ...
Aug 23, 2011 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
Fusion diagnostic sheds light on plasma behavior at EAST
An instrument developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has enabled a team at the EAST fusion experiment in China to observe--in startling detail--how a particular ...
Aug 05, 2011 |
4.3 / 5 (12) |
0
|
Disruption of giant molecular clouds by massive star clusters
(PhysOrg.com) -- New computer simulations show that the light from massive stars is, by itself, enough to blow apart the nebula where the stars are born. While this 'radiation pressure' was by and large overlooked in the ...
Jun 02, 2011 |
5 / 5 (3) |
8
|
Tiny talk on a barnacle's back: Scientists use new imaging technique to reveal complex microbial interactions
Even the merest of microbes must be able to talk, to be able to interact with its environment and with others to not just survive, but to thrive. This cellular chatter comes in the form of signaling molecules ...
May 10, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Electron ping pong in the nano-world
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of researchers succeeded at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics to control and monitor strongly accelerated electrons from nano-spheres with extremely short and ...
Apr 25, 2011 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Safeguarding genome integrity through extraordinary DNA repair
(PhysOrg.com) -- DNA is under constant attack, from internal factors like free radicals and external ones like ionizing radiation. About 10 double-strand breaks – the kind that snap both backbones of ...
Apr 19, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (8) |
3
|
Ionization
Ionization is the process of converting an atom or molecule into an ion by adding or removing charged particles such as electrons or other ions. This is often confused with dissociation. A substance may dissociate without necessarily producing ions. As an example, the molecules of table sugar dissociate in water (sugar is dissolved) but exist as intact neutral entities. Another subtle event is the dissociation of sodium chloride (table salt) into sodium and chlorine ions. Although it may seem as a case of ionization, in reality the ions already exist within the crystal lattice. When salt is dissociated, its constituent ions are simply surrounded by water molecules and their effects are visible (e.g. the solution becomes electrolytic). However, no transfer or displacement of electrons occurs whatsoever. Actually, the chemical synthesis of salt involves ionization.
The process of ionization works slightly differently depending on whether an ion with a positive or a negative electric charge is being produced. A positively charged ion is produced when an electron bonded to an atom (or molecule) absorbs the proper amount of energy to escape from the electric potential barrier that originally confined it, thus breaking the bond and freeing it to move. The amount of energy required is called the ionization energy. A negatively charged ion is produced when a free electron collides with an atom and is subsequently caught inside the electric potential barrier, releasing any excess energy.
In general, ionization can be broken down into two types: sequential ionization and non-sequential ionization. In classical physics, only sequential ionization can take place; refer to the Classical ionization section for more information. Non-sequential ionization violates several laws of classical physics; refer to the Quantum ionization section.
For more information about Ionization, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
