THE ATOM 107 



tent in all electrolytes .... Judging by conductivity, 

 ionization appears to be practically complete when 

 1 gram-equivalent of a salt is dissolved in 1,000 

 litres of water."^^ 



The displacement of electrons involved in the ioni- 

 zation that takes place in an electrolyte or in a 

 colloidal solution, is not caused like that in a gas. In 

 the latter a stream of electrons or alpha particles or 

 X-rays is shot through the gas at great speed, 

 possibly passing through a very large number of 

 atoms (molecules) before striking and dislocating 

 an electron. Indeed, W. F. G. Swann has shown 

 that "corpuscles having the velocity approximately 

 that of light .... would be unable to eject an 

 electron from an atom of oxygen, the more easily 

 ionizable of the two main constituents of the atmos- 

 phere."2o 



The passage of the electric current then is not 

 needed to bring about ionization in an electrolyte, 

 the condition of dissociation resulting from the 

 direct action of one atom (of a molecule) upon 

 another. It is believed that "many salts, acids and 

 bases are dissociated when they are dissolved." 

 (Bloxam.^O 



However, the acquiring of an electric charge is a 



1' Chemistry, eleventh edition, 313. 



" Journal of the Franklin Institute, February, 1926. 



" Chemistry, eleventh edition, 313. 



