ion

ion

an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ion

(ÿ -on, -ŏn) An atom or molecule that has lost or gained one or more electrons, thus having a positive or negative charge.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

ion

[′ī‚än]

(chemistry)

An isolated electron or positron or an atom or molecule which by loss or gain of one or more electrons has acquired a net electric charge.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

ion

(1) (IDL On the Net) See IDL.

(2) (ION) An NVIDIA graphics platform typically used in Atom-based netbooks. See Intel Atom.

(3) An ion is an atom with fewer or greater electrons than normal as a result of radiation or chemical reaction. A positive ion, called a "cation" (pronounced "cat-eye-en"), has one or more electrons stripped out, which means it has fewer electrons in its electron shells than it has protons in its nucleus. A negative ion, called an "anion" (pronounced "an-eye-en"), is an atom that has one or more electrons forcibly added.

Cations, Anions, Cathodes and Anodes
Although one might think cations are in cathodes and anions are in anodes, the opposite is true. When the terms were coined, the concept was that positive cations were attracted to the negative cathode, and negative anions were attracted to the positive anode.

Batteries Contain Positive and Negative Ions
In a battery, there are positive ions on one side and negative ions on the other. When a conductor is placed in between to complete the circuit, the electrons flow from the negative ions to the positive side where they join the positive ions. See ion deposition.

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.