-ation, -ization (-iz[e] + -ation); -isation (British spelling variation)

(Greek > Latin: a suffix; action, act, process, state, or condition; or result of doing something)

Although there are over 1,450 word entries ending with -ation or -ization listed in this unit, there are certainly many more which exist in the English language. At any rate, this unit provides a significant number of -ation and -ization examples for you to see.

ion retardation
1. A sorbent extraction (taken up and held, as by absorption or adsorption or adhesion of the molecules of liquids, gases, and dissolved substances to the surfaces of solids, as opposed to absorption, in which the molecules actually enter the absorbing medium) of strong electrolytes with an anion-exchange resin in which a cationic monomer has been polymerized, or the reverse.
2. A process based on bifunctional (two functional) ion-exchange resins containing both anion (negatively charged ion) and cation (positively charged ion) adsorption sites, which removes both kinds of ions from solutions.
ionization
1. The process of adding an electron to, or removing an electron from, an atom or molecule so as to give a negative or positive net charge.

The atom is then called an ion.

2. A process in which electrically neutral atoms or molecules are converted to electrically charged atoms or molecules (ions) by the removal or addition of negatively charged electrons.

It is one of the principal ways in which radiation transfers energy to matter, and hence of detecting radiation.

In general, ionization occurs whenever sufficiently energetic charged particles or radiant energy travels through gases, liquids, or solids.

A certain minimal level of ionization is present in the earth's atmosphere because of continuous absorption of cosmic rays from space and ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

3. The process by which a neutral atom, or a cluster of such atoms, becomes an ion.

This may occur, for instance, by absorption of light ("photoionization") or by a collision with a fast particle ("impact ionization").

Also, certain molecules (such as table salt or sodium chloride, NaCl) are formed by natural ions (like Na+ and Cl-) held together by their electric attraction, and they may fall apart when dissolved in water (which weakens the attraction), enabling the solution to conduct electricity.

4. Production of charged atoms or molecules in a gas by electric discharge or by irradiation.
ionization arc-over
1. Arcing across terminals or contacts due to ionization of the adjacent air or gas.
2. Arcing across satellite antenna terminals as the satellite passes through the ionized regions of the ionosphere.
3. An electric spark which is created when ionized charges build up in a medium and produce forces on the electrons.
ionization chamber
1. A device that measures the intensity of ionizing radiation.
2. A device used to detect and measure ionizing radiation, consisting of a gas-filled tube with electrodes at each end between which a voltage is maintained.

Radiation that ionizes gas molecules in the tube causes a current between the electrodes, the strength of which is a function of the radiation's intensity.

3. A gas-filled enclosure fitted with electrodes between which electric current flows upon ionization of the gas by incident radiation, the electrodes being maintained at a potential difference just sufficient to collect ions thus produced without causing further ionization.
4. The device for the detection and measurement of ionizing radiation.

It consists basically of a sealed chamber containing a gas and two electrodes between which a voltage is maintained by an external circuit.

When ionizing radiation; such as, a photon, enters the chamber (through a foil-covered window), it ionizes one or more gas molecules.

The ions are attracted to the oppositely charged electrodes; their presence causes a momentary drop in the voltage, which is recorded by the external circuit.

The observed voltage drop helps identify the radiation because it depends on the degree of ionization, which in turn depends on the charge, mass, and speed of the photon.

Geiger-Müller counter

A Geiger-Müller counter results from the application of a still-higher voltage across the electrodes of a proportional counter.

Individual particles of various kinds and energies entering a Geiger-Müller counter produce essentially the same large output pulse, making the instrument an excellent counter of individual particles.

The mixture of gases within a Geiger counter quenches the avalanche of ions produced by a single particle of radiation so that the device can recover to detect another particle.

An additional significant increase in voltage causes a continuous current to flow through the gas between the electrodes, rendering the device useless for detecting radiation.

—Compiled from "ionization chamber", Encyclopædia Britannica; 2010;
Encyclopædia Britannica Online; May 22, 2010.
ionization coefficient, specific ionization
The number of ion pairs formed per unit distance along the track of an ion passing through matter.
ionization constant
1. Analog of the dissociation constant; used for the application of the law of mass action to ionization.
2. An equilibrium constant for the ionization of a weak electrolyte.
3. A constant that depends upon the equilibrium between the ions and the molecules that are not ionized in a solution or liquid.
ionization cross section
1. The cross section for a particle or photon to undergo a collision with an atom, and so removing or adding one or more electrons to the atom.
2. An area in which the probability that an atom or ion will undergo ionization when it collides with a particle or photon of sufficient energy is measured.
ionization current, gas current
1. A current produced in an ionized gas by an electric field.
2. A positive-ion current produced by collisions between electrons and residual gas molecules in an electron tube.
ionization degree
1. The fractional degree of ionization of acids, bases, or salts that has taken place in a solution or reaction mixture.
2. The proportion of potential ionization that has taken place for an ionizable material in a solution or reaction mixture.
ionization energy, ionization potential, ion potential
1. The amount of energy required to remove an electron from a specific atom or ion to an infinite point, generally expressed in electron volts and numerically equal to the ionization potential.
2. The energy required o remove completely the weakest bound electron from its ground state in an atom or molecule so that the resulting ion is also in its ground state.
3. Amount of energy required to remove an electron from an isolated atom or molecule.

There is an ionization potential for each successive electron removed, though that associated with removing the first (most loosely held) electron is most commonly used.

The ionization potential of an element is a measure of its ability to enter into chemical reactions requiring ion formation or donation of electrons and is related to the nature of the chemical bonding in the compounds formed by elements.

ionization front
1. In astrophysics, a region in space in which the interstellar gas, commonly hydrogen, changes from a mostly neutral state to a mostly ionized situation, because of the ultraviolet radiation from hot stars nearby.
2. A transition region that separates interstellar gas in which a given atomic species, usually hydrogen, is mostly ionized from interstellar gas in which it is essentially neutral.
ionization techniques
A class of techniques in crystal spectroscopy wherein an ionization chamber (an X-ray detector) is appropriately placed to detect the reflected X-rays after undergoing Bragg scattering which is the scattering of X-rays or neutrons by the regularly spaced atoms in a crystal, for which constructive interference occurs only at definite angles called Bragg angles (angles between an incident X-ray beam and a set of crystal planes for which the secondary radiation displays maximum intensity as a result of constructive interference).

"Bragg scattering" and "Bragg angles" are named after, Sir William Henry Bragg (1862–1942), and his son, Sir William Lawrence Bragg (1890–1971); English physicists and Nobel prize winners in 1915.

ionization time
1. The amount of time it takes for a gaseous substance to ionize after an ionizing property has been applied to it.
2. Referring to a gas tube, the time interval between the initiation of conditions for and the establishment of conduction at some stated value of tube voltage drop.
iridization
1. The dispersion of light by corneal edema, resulting in the perception of colored halos around lights.
2. The subjective perception of iridescent halos around lights, occurring in glaucoma.
irritation