• Question: hey james monk. what is the best way to describe ionisation

    Asked by alicedean to James_M on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: James M Monk

      James M Monk answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Hi Alice.

      Normal atoms have a cloud of electrons surrounding them so that the negative charge of the electrons cancels with the positive charge of the atomic nucleus, and the atom is electrically neutral overall. If an atom is ionised then some (or all) of the electrons are removed so that the atom has an overall positive electric charge. It is also possible to create a negatively charged ion by adding more electrons to a neutral atom

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