What is Ion: Definition and 404 Discussions

An ion () is a particle, atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of the electron is considered negative by convention. The negative charge of an ion is equal and opposite to charged proton(s) considered positive by convention. The net charge of an ion is non-zero due to its total number of electrons being unequal to its total number of protons.
A cation is a positively charged ion with fewer electrons than protons while an anion is negatively charged with more electrons than protons. Because of their opposite electric charges, cations and anions attract each other and readily form ionic compounds.
Ions consisting of only a single atom are termed atomic or monatomic ions, while two or more atoms form molecular ions or polyatomic ions. In the case of physical ionization in a fluid (gas or liquid), "ion pairs" are created by spontaneous molecule collisions, where each generated pair consists of a free electron and a positive ion. Ions are also created by chemical interactions, such as the dissolution of a salt in liquids, or by other means, such as passing a direct current through a conducting solution, dissolving an anode via ionization.

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  1. M

    Artificially Induced subcritical Heavy Ion fission

    This is an idea I had and felt it worth publishing. The reason fusion is so difficult is because the particles are so light, small, and have difficulty overcoming the coulomb barrier. Well I got to thinking and noticed that it'd be a lot easier to get heavy nuclei to fuse, but naturally they'd...
  2. J

    Understanding NH3 & NH4+ Complex Ion Formations

    Homework Statement Why does NH3 readily form complex ions with the transition elements but NH4+ does not? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution Is it because the transition elements are much more receptive to reacting with a base than with an acid because in fact the...
  3. 8

    Explaining Hydrogen-Like Ions and Quantum Numbers for Li2+

    Homework Statement (a) Explain the term Hydrogen like ion and determine the quantum numbers l,m for the Li2+ ion in the states for which n=1 and n=2. (b) Explain why for a hydrogen-like ion it is reasonable to use the relations, \mu\approx{m_e}, {E_n}=-13.6\left(\frac{Z^2}{n^2}\right)...
  4. T

    MATLAB: Modeling Ion Movement in Ion Trap

    Hey guys, I asked this before but I don't know where the thread is, and now it's more detailed, haha. So attached is a png of the trap design. I'm trying to make a function on MATLAB where I can predict the ion's movement/oscillation. So the E1-E5 are electrodes, which have a combined...
  5. A

    Calculating number of ion channels in lipid bilayer

    Homework Statement Calculate number of channels present in a lipid bilayer q = 1.6^-19; D (diffusion constant) = 1.2E-9; C (Concentration); 4.36; k = 1.38E-23; T=298; d = 2.5E-9 Therefore G1 = 1.27E-17 Channel area = 7.07E-18 measured conductance (from injecting Na+...
  6. M

    Ion exchange and stability constants

    Homework Statement In natural water containing 0.9 mmol/L calcium and 12 ug/L fulvic acid, determine the fraction of the fulvic acid that is bound to calcium (i.e. the ratio between the concentration of Ca-FA and total concentration of FA binding sites), assuming that calcium is the only metal...
  7. H

    Ion beam in E and B field problem

    Homework Statement A beam of ions enters a region in which the electric field E and magnetic flux density B are normal to each other and both normal to the velocity of the ions. Show that if the velocity of the ions is related to the fields by v=ExB/B2 then the ions pass through the...
  8. N

    Effect of freezing on Lithium Ion Batteries

    A quick google search reveals conflicting opinions on whether or not this will have a negative impact on battery life. I carry my laptop outdoors with me every day on my walk from the train to the hospital, do I need to worry about the cold ruining my battery?
  9. G

    Bonding force of an optical electron and the nucleus of ion Cr3+

    Does anybody know how to find bonding force of an optical electron and the nucleus of ion Cr3+ (in pink ruby during normal and excited states (excitement of light))? And also how to find the magnetic moment of the same electron during EPR (during excitement by a radiowave)? Condition of the...
  10. Z

    Calculating Molarity of Cr(III) Sulfate and Sulfate Ion

    Homework Statement 21.76g Cr(III) Sulfate is dissolved in enough water to give 500.0 mL of solution. 10.00 mL of this solution is pipetted into a 250.0mL volumatric flask and diluted to the mark. a) Calculate the molarity of Cr(III) Sulfate in original solution b) Calculate the molarity of...
  11. S

    Fullerenes as Ion Propellants

    I'm x-posting this from the Aerospace Engineering forum, to see if I can get more responses here -------- I'd read about the investigation into using C60 fullerenes as propellant in an ion engine, due to their high molecular weight and low ionization energy...
  12. G

    Electrical How difficult to build a DIY Lithium Ion Battery Charger?

    Not asking for a schematic, more a notion of roughly how challenging this will be.
  13. I

    Kinetic Energy of Ion accelerated across potential difference

    An ion of 64Zn30+ with an initial kinetic energy of 9.88 keV is accelerated across a potential difference of 277 Volts. What is its kinetic energy after acceleration (in keV)?
  14. P

    O-H Bonding (and ion dissociation)

    This is probably something I should know, but I don't want to wait and ask my professor. In the combustion of H2, assuming O2 is plentiful enough not to be a limiting reactant, H2O forms as a result of the O-H bond being more stable than the bonds between two H or two O. Is this due to the...
  15. K

    What is the ratio of radii for the two species X+ and X2+?

    Homework Statement The ion source is a spectrometer produces both singly and doubly ionized species, X+ and X2+. The difference in mass between these species is too small to be detected. Both species are accelerated through the same electric potential difference, and both experience the...
  16. somasimple

    Potassium Channel ion rate and Gradient

    Hi All, A potassium channel is designed to filter out potassium ions at a maximum rate of 100,000,000 ions s-1 A common concentration (cell's interior) of potassium is 100 mM and 5 mM outside. This means there is 553 water molecules for 1 potassium ion inside (55.3/0.100) and 11,060 water...
  17. E

    Stoichiometric Maximum Concentration - Lithium Ion Batteries

    Hi, I am trying to test the validity of a simple lithium ion battery model that I consctructed to better understand the internal stress caused by the diffusion. I have referenced several papers and I am currently looking at how to calclualte the partial molar volume for a given material. To...
  18. A

    Can someone tell me what the HD+ ion is?

    I know H_2^+ is a bound state of an electron and two protons, but what's \text{HD}^+? Is the D just a stand-in for an arbitrary nucleus that may, or may not, be a proton? I found the following website with information about this cation that leads me to believe that the "D" is not just a...
  19. F

    Ion Engine Efficency: What Mass is Optimal?

    I was arguing with my NASA friend the other day about what would make a more efficent propellent for an ion engine. Is it a lighter ion or a heavier ion. THis was what I derived. Assume a charge q of mass m is accelerated through a potential V. The mass of the ship is M. Working through...
  20. S

    Cramer-Rao lower boundry ion;

    Hi there, I've got a distribution function for an assignment for my school here and I don't get the hang of the question; f(x) = θ* 2^θ * x^(-θ-1) for x>2 0 for else The assignment is to calculate the Cramer-Rao lower boundry for consistent estimators...
  21. S

    What is the charge on carbonate ion

    Hi, I m 21 and am studying Chemistry in my spare time, I haven't done it since i was 15 so I am only a beginner and i do not understand simple things lol, Here's one such example; carbonate ion, CO3^2-, is a polyatomic anion with 1 carbon atom and 3 oxygen atoms. The ion has two units of...
  22. V

    Solubility Problem - Involves Addition of Another Ion

    Homework Statement How many moles of solid sodium fluoride should be added to 1.0 L of a saturated solution of barium fluoride, BaF2, at 25OC to raise the fluoride concentration to 3.0 x 10-2 mol/L? The solubility product constant for BaF2 is Ksp = 1.7 x 10-6 at 25OC. The Attempt at a...
  23. L

    Why can the O7+ ion be consider hydrogen-like

    Homework Statement Explain, in two or three sentences, why the O7+ ion can be considered to be a hydrogen-like ion. State what subatomic particles it is composed of and how many there are of each Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I know the correct answer to...
  24. D

    Learning device, help me expound: on Faraday's choice of ion , and unionized

    Learning device, help me expound: on Faraday's choice of "ion", and "unionized" So I was writing down some notes to myself on electrochemistry (100 level college chemistry---elementary electrochemistry chapter) and I wrote down the word "unionized" (as in, 'un-ionized') and realized that there...
  25. R

    What is the magnitude of the force on a calcium ion

    Homework Statement Large electric fields in cell membranes cause ions to move through the cell wall. The field strength in a typical membrane is 1.0x10^7 N/C. What is the magnitude of the force on a calcium ion with charge +e? Homework Equations E = F/q > F = Eq The Attempt at a...
  26. D

    An Ion passing through an electric and magnetic field

    Homework Statement A singly charged proton ion of 7 Li has a mass of 1.16E-26 kg. Starting from rest it is accelerated in the positive x-direction through a potential difference of 165 kV. The ion then enters a uniform magnetic field that has magnitude 0.325 T and is directed in the negative...
  27. E

    Gen Chem - Isomers in a complex ion

    How can you know if a complex ion has an optical isomer or not? I understand that it's when the mirror image can't be superimposed but am having trouble recognizing it. For example, take [Co(NH3)4F2]+. Does this have an optical isomer or just cis/trans?
  28. S

    What is the equation for finding the mass of an ion using a mass spectrometer?

    Homework Statement A mass spectrometer applies a voltage of 2.00 kilovolts to accelerate a singly charged ion (+e). This ion then enters a region of uniform magnetic field (B= 0.400 T) which then bends the ion into a circular path of radius 0.305 m What is the mass of the ion? Homework...
  29. J

    Finding potential difference to accelerate the ion

    Homework Statement What potential difference is needed to accelerate a He + ion (charge +e, mass 4 u) from rest to a speed of 2.0 * 10^6 m/s?Homework Equations Kf + Uf = Ki + Ui U = qV where V is potential difference (volts) K = (1/2)mv^2 The Attempt at a Solution I chose the rest point to...
  30. D

    What is the drift speed of Na+ ions while the current flows?

    Homework Statement A. When current flows in an ionic solution, both negative and positive ions are charge carriers. In the dilute limit, the resistivity of the solution is inversely proportional to the concentration. For example, the resistivity of salt water solution at 25 °C is ρ =...
  31. J

    Replacing a lead acid 12 volt battery with a Lithium ion Polymer battery

    I got this idea that I could maybe replace the heavy lead acid battery on my motorcycle with a lithium ion polymer battery. I found that you can buy batteries for RC cars that match the power requirements. The lead acid battery is 12 volts, 6Ah. It seams that L.I.P. batteries for RC cars are...
  32. N

    Radius of Curvature of Ion in Magnetic Field

    Homework Statement A doubly ionized atom (charge = +2e) whose mass is 5.15E-26 kg is accelerated by a voltage of 3450 V and enters a region where a uniform magnetic field B = 0.100 T acts perpendicular to its motion. What is the radius of curvature of the path of the ion in the B-field...
  33. T

    Deriving Equations for Two-State Ion Channel Kinetics

    I'm asked to derive two equations related to ion channel kinetics. First, some background. These are two-state ion channels (open-closed) with the form shown below: http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2039/testsg5.gif The first equation represents the open probability of the channel...
  34. W

    A Simple Question about Diffusion and ion speed

    Greetings, I'm trying to get an intuitive understanding about a process involving an ion mobility that (I'm told) has D = 9.3 x 10-5 cm2/s. I'm assuming that D is a diffusion coefficient. I'd like to know approximately how long it takes for the ion to travel about 10 cm. Would this be...
  35. S

    Can Ion Exchange Effectively Remove NaCl from H2O in a Home MHD Generator?

    Leaving the physics out of this, I'm working on an idea for an in home MHD generator. I'm trying to figure out a conductive fluid to use. I'm back to the idea of salt water, or H20 + NaCl. I know this is a very conductive solution, but I'm no chemist. What I plan to do is put a MHD generator and...
  36. M

    Question about unknown type of metal ion

    Homework Statement we are mixing CuSo4 (Cu2+) with an iron (Fe) powder and we are trying to determine whether Fe2+ forms or Fe3+ now the question is : suppose that 1.0 g of iron is used in the experiment. what is the minimum volume of Cu2+ solution that must be added in order to completely...
  37. H

    Be Ion: Calculating Longest Wavelength Absorbed

    Homework Statement The element Be has 4 electrons and 4 protons in the atom. An ion of Be has all the electrons removed except 1, so it resembles a hydrogen atom with a nuclear charge of +4 e. Constants: E1(Hydrogen)= -13.6eV, r1(Hydrogen)= 5.29x10-11m. If a gas is made up of ions...
  38. S

    Questions about polyatomic ion compounds

    I'm extremely confused in regards to many aspects concerning polyatomic ions. For one, am I correct in thinking that covalent polyatomic ions gain charges by having components dissociated? Ex. A and B are sharing an electron, A has a significantly greater hold, B is dissociated by something...
  39. T

    Ion Life Channel: Sexist Travel Show "Get Out

    Do any of you get this channel? Have you seen the show "Get Out"? It's a travel show where these three girls travel around the world and tell you about it. Oh, and they only wear bikini tops and they only go to tropical areas. I can't get enough of this show. It is so sexist, because these girls...
  40. somasimple

    Does an ion carry electricity?

    Hi All, A stupid question for sure (sorry). Does a moving ion, since it carries an electric field, creates some kind of electricity ? (This concept remains unclear for me)
  41. J

    Using Maxwell SV for Ion Engines

    I had a question about the Maxwell SV program and was hopping someone might be able to answer it for me. Using the Maxwell program I have made a whole bunch of different cases of magnet geometries for an 8cm Ion Engine and they all seem to be good. The only problem is that when I try save the...
  42. G

    Basic question on electron, ion and photon excitation

    hello, everyone, I am not in this filed. So I get a simple question. Besides field emission and thermionic emission, is there any other means to excite the eletron and get electron beam. Could anyone tell me some basic similar ways to excite the ion and photon? Thanks.
  43. C

    Physics of Ion Traps: E-books and Textbooks

    This is my first post, so please move if it is not in the correct section. Anyway, I would like to read about the physics of ion traps. Can anyone recommend any e-books or textbooks on the subject? I googled it but didn't find many things...
  44. H

    Naming of complex ion CuCl4^2-

    Homework Statement Name of complex ion CuCl4^2- The Attempt at a Solution I wrote tetrachlorocuprate(II) ion and my teacher says it is incorrect. I should write tetrachlorocopper(II) ion
  45. X

    Some questions about ion trap?

    Now scientists can trap one ion in the ion trap. I think this technology is very advanced. In 1986 both of Dehmelt's group and Toschek's group firstly trapped the Ba+ ion. Now after 20 years, the ion trap technology has gotten greater progress. I have some questions. Nowadays what ions have...
  46. J

    Kids tractor lithium ion conversion

    My kids have a Peg Perego John Deere Gator tractor that uses a 12v battery. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000G0KT6Y/?tag=pfamazon01-20 The battery requires monthly charging or it will die. The charge is slow and the winter months are a hassle. I could replace the battery but I'd rather...
  47. I

    Essay on the Lithium ion battery

    Hi all, I'm currently in the works of experimenting and writing up my Extended Essay on Chemistry for the IB (it is basically a very long lab report). I have chosen to do the sub-topic of electrochemistry, within which I am interested to do something on the Lithium-ion battery. However, this...
  48. T

    Common Ion Effect: pH of LiF, KI & NH4Cl Solutions

    Homework Statement does the ph increase , decrease or remain the same on addition of each of the folling a) LiF to an HF Solution B) KI to an HI solution C) NH4Cl to an NH3 solution Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution i got the equations and the answers to these i just...
  49. T

    Common Ion Effect: pH Change for LiF, KI & NH4Cl

    Homework Statement does the ph increase , decrease or remain the same on addition of each of the folling a) LiF to an HF Solution B) KI to an HI solution C) NH4Cl to an NH3 solution Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution i got the equations and the answers to these i just...
  50. D

    Finding Velocity of Positive ion with Volts given.

    Homework Statement An ion is accelerated through potential diff. of 250 V, directly perpendicular to mag. field. Find radius of the path of the ion in the field. Given: mass (m)=2.5 x 10^-26 charge(q)= 1.6 x 10^-19 Volts= 250 V Mag. Field (B) = 0.50 T Homework Equations...
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