ion, ion- +

(Greek: ion, "going"; neuter present participle of ienai, "to go"; because an ion moves toward the electrode of an opposite charge)

ion-mass spectrometer
An analytical instrument in which ions, produced from a sample, are separated by electric or magnetic fields according to their ratios of charge to mass.

A record is produced (mass spectrum) of the types of ion present and their relative amounts.

ionocolorimeter
A device for determining the pH of a solution by the color it implants to a suitably selected indicator.
ionogen
Anything that can be ionized.
ionogram, ionopherogram, electrophoretogram, electropherogram
1. A record of the results of an electrophoresis (objects moving in a fluid when an electric charge is applied); such as, a filter paper on which the components of a mixture are deposited as they migrate under the influence of an electric field.
2. A record produced by an ionosonde (pulsing radar device that measures the height of ionospheric layers), plotting radio frequency against the round-trip time of each pulse.
3. The densitometer tracing generated by analyzing a strip of electrophoretically separated proteins.
ionography
A type of electrochromatography (electro-analysis of chemical substances) involving the migration of ions; such as, on wet filter paper.
ionomer
1. Any of a class of plastics that because of its ionic bonding action is capable of conducting electric current.
2. Polymer with covalent bonds between the elements of the chain and ionic bonds between the chains.
3. A polymer; such as, a polystyrene or polyacrylic, having unique physical properties because of the ionic interactions in discrete (separate and unconnected) regions of the material.
4. A polymer containing ion and in dentistry, ionomers are a mixture of glass and an organic acid.

They are clear but vary in the amount of translucency; so, for this reason, their aesthetic potential does not match that of composite resins.

ionomer resin
1. A copolymer (chemical with high molecular weight) of ethylene (flammable gas) and vinyl monomer (single unjoined organic molecule) with an acid group, forming a transparent, resilient thermoplastic material used in making bottles, pipes and tubing, and electroconductive elements.
2. A polymer which has ethylene as the major component, but which contains both covalent and ionic bonds.
ionometer, ionoquantimeter, iontoradeometer
1. Any apparatus that measures the intensity or quantity of radiation by measuring the ionization it produces.
2. An instrument for measuring the amount and intensity of roentgen rays.
3. An instrument for measuring dosages of ionizing radiation based on the production of ions in the air.
ionometry
Measurement of ionizing radiation.
ionophone
1. A high-frequency loudspeaker in which the audio-frequency signal modulates the radio-frequency supply to an arc maintained in a quartz tube, and the resulting modulated wave acts directly on ionized air to create sound waves.
2. A loudspeaker that creates high-frequency audio signals that are used to modulate a radio-frequency signal to a quartz tube.

The modulated signal then acts directly on a sample of ionized air to produce sound.

ionophore
1. An antibiotic that carries specific ions across a membrane; such as, the plasma membrane of bacterial or animal cells or the mitochondrial membrane.
2. Any molecule; such as, of a drug, that increases the permeability of cell membranes to a specific ion.
3. Any of a group of organic compounds that facilitate the transport of ions across a cell membrane.
4. A chemical compound capable of forming a complex with an ion and transporting it through a biological membrane.
5. A lipid-soluble substance capable of transporting specific ions through cellular membranes.
6. A chemical material that has a high affinity for ions.

Ionophores are used in ion-selective electrode membranes.

ionosonde
1. The traditional technique for measuring the properties of the ionosphere by transmission and reception of vertically incident radio pulses at swept frequencies in the high frequency range.
2. A pulsed radar device used to measure the height of ionospheric layers.
3. A radar system for determining the vertical height at which the ionosphere reflects signals back to earth at various frequencies.

A pulsed vertical beam is swept periodically through a frequency range from 0.5 to 20 megahertz, and the variation of echo return time with frequency is photographically recorded.

ionosphere
1. Four layers of the earth's upper atmosphere in which incoming ionizing radiation from space creates ions and free electrons that can reflect radio signals, enabling their transmission around the world.
2. A region of the earth's atmosphere where ionization caused by incoming solar radiation affects the transmission of radio waves.

It extends from a height of 70 kilometers (43 miles) to 400 kilometers (250 miles) above the surface.

3. A section in the earth's atmosphere, beginning at an altitude of 70-80 kilometers and extending to an indefinite height, in which free electrons and ions produced by solar radiation are abundant and affect certain radio waves that propagate through this region.

Ionosphere and Magnetosphere

The ionosphere and the magnetosphere consist of regions of the earth’s atmosphere in which the number of electrically charged particles—ions and electrons—are large enough to affect the propagation of radio waves.

The charged particles are created by the action of extraterrestrial radiation (mainly from the sun) on neutral atoms and molecules of air.

The ionosphere begins at a height of about 50 kilometers (30 miles) above the surface, but it is most distinct and important above 80 kilometers (50 miles).

In the upper regions of the ionosphere, beginning several hundred kilometers above earth’s surface and extending tens of thousands of kilometers into space, is the magnetosphere, a region where the behavior of charged particles is strongly affected by the magnetic fields of the earth and the sun.

Much of the early research on the ionosphere was carried out by radio engineers and was stimulated by the need to define the factors influencing long-range radio communication.

It is in the magnetosphere that the spectacular displays of the aurora borealis and aurora australis take place.

The magnetosphere also contains the Van Allen radiation belts, where highly energized protons and electrons travel back and forth between the poles of earth’s magnetic field.

The name ionosphere was introduced first in the 1920's and was formally defined in 1950 by a committee of the Institute of Radio Engineers as "the part of the earth's upper atmosphere where ions and electrons are present in quantities sufficient to affect the propagation of radio waves."

Subsequent research has focused on understanding the ionosphere as the environment for earth-orbiting satellites and, in the military arena, for ballistic missile flight.

Scientific knowledge of the ionosphere has grown tremendously, fueled by a steady stream of data from spacecraft-borne instruments and enhanced by measurements of relevant atomic and molecular processes in the laboratory.

—Compiled from "ionosphere and magnetosphere", Encyclopædia Britannica; 2010;
Encyclopædia Britannica Online; May 22, 2010.
ionospheric
A reference to a region of the earth's atmosphere in which there is a high concentration of free electrons formed as a result of ionizing radiation entering the atmosphere from space.
ionospheric D scatter meteor burst
1. An electrical activity caused by infalling meteors that allows the penetration of radio waves from the ionosphere's D layer.
2. A disturbance that affects ionospheric scatter communications resulting from the penetration of meteors through the D region of the ionospheric layer.

A cross reference of word units that are related, directly and/or indirectly, with "electricity": electro-; galvano-; hodo-; piezo-; -tron; volt; biomechatronics, info; mechatronics, info.