Ion - Wikiparency

# Ion ## Microsim (three.js) <div class="microsim-player">  <p class="wt-pending"><strong>Microsim staged, not yet on the CDN.</strong> <code>Ion.html</code> is built and deploy-ready in <code>Microsims for Dissemination/</code>, but the Netlify project still serves the geometry+spintronics set only. The player is disabled until the deploy lands; the explanatory text below is unchanged.</p>   </div> *In the reaction-chemistry hub, an ion is the charged building block that snaps into an Ionic bond, stacks into a [[Crystal_structure]], and sets the cell voltage read off by the Nernst equation.* > An ion is an atom or group of atoms carrying a net electric charge because it holds more or fewer electrons than protons. Strip one or more electrons away and the leftover positive charge makes a **cation**; add electrons and the surplus negative charge makes an **anion**. Here you build ions by hand, then slide a cation and an anion together to feel the Coulomb force that draws them into a bond. ## About this microsim Start with the **Element selector** to drop a neutral atom on the canvas, and use the **Orbit speed** slider (0–3) to set how fast its electrons circle the nucleus. Next, the **Ion A** and **Ion B** selectors let you choose two species — say a sodium cation and a chloride anion — and the sim redraws each with its lost or gained electron, flipping the label between cation (+) and anion (−). Then drag the **Distance between ions** control from 11 down toward 2.5 and watch the pull strengthen as oppositely charged partners approach; pick two like-signed ions instead and the same slider shows repulsion. ## Related microsims - Ionic bond — the bond this cation and anion form when they lock together - [[Bohr_model]] — the orbiting-electron picture the Element selector draws - [[Crystal_structure]] — how these ions stack into a salt's ordered lattice - Nernst equation — ion concentrations turned into electrochemical cell voltages - Enthalpy — the heat absorbed to make ions and released when they combine - Dilution (equation) — related REACTION microsim - Galvanometer — related REACTION microsim - Gibbs free energy — related REACTION microsim - Multimeter — related REACTION microsim - Radiation — related REACTION microsim ## Links (Wikipedia order)  `Acetate` · `Actinide_chemistry` · `Adenosine_triphosphate` · `Agricultural_chemistry` · `Air_ioniser` · `Alchemy` · 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`Voltaic_pile` · `W._H._Freeman_and_Company` · `Water_quality` · [[Wayback_Machine]] · `Weston_cell` · `Wet_chemistry` · `Wiley_(publisher)` · `William_Whewell` · `Zamboni_pile` · [[Zinc]] · `Zinc–air_battery` · `Zinc–bromine_battery` · `Zinc–carbon_battery` · `Zinc–cerium_battery` · `Zwitterion` ## Overview An ion is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge, arising whenever the electron count does not equal the proton count. A positively charged ion, with fewer electrons than protons, is a cation (e.g. Na⁺, Ca²⁺); one with more electrons is an anion (e.g. Cl⁻, O²⁻, SO₄²⁻). Michael Faraday coined *ion*, *cation*, and *anion* in 1834, aided by William Whewell, for the species that migrate through an electrolyte during electrolysis: cations move toward the cathode, anions toward the anode. In 1884 Svante Arrhenius argued that dissolved salts dissociate into ions, explaining why electrolyte solutions conduct electricity. Ions underpin ionic bonding and crystal lattices, electrochemical cells and batteries, nerve signalling, flames, and plasmas. ## The chemistry Forming a cation costs energy — the **ionization energy** needed to pull an electron from a neutral atom. Forming an anion from a nonmetal often releases energy — the **electron affinity**. Once formed, two ions interact by Coulomb's law. For point charges q₁ = z₁e and q₂ = z₂e separated by distance r, U(r) = k_e · z₁z₂e² / r with Coulomb constant k_e ≈ 8.988 × 10⁹ N·m²·C⁻² and elementary charge e ≈ 1.602 × 10⁻¹⁹ C. For a cation (z₁ = +1) and anion (z₂ = −1) the product z₁z₂ is negative, so U is negative and deepens as r shrinks — the attraction the Distance slider reveals. Real ions cannot merge: once electron clouds overlap, a steep Born repulsion (∝ r⁻ⁿ, n ≈ 5–12) balances the pull at an equilibrium spacing r₀. For Na⁺–Cl⁻ that spacing is about 2.82 Å (282 pm) in the crystal — near the low end of the sim's 2.5–11 range. ## Controls → what each maps to | Control | Maps to (symbol) | Range / values | Physical meaning | |---------|------------------|----------------|------------------| | Element selector | Z (protons = electrons) | chemical elements | Neutral atom, and the electrons it can lose or gain | | Orbit speed | v (visual) | 0–3 | Electron animation rate; a display aid, not a real speed | | Ion A selector | z₁ | ion species | First ion and its net charge | | Ion B selector | z₂ | ion species | Second ion and its net charge | | Distance between ions | r | 2.5–11 (Å scale) | Pair separation; fixes the Coulomb energy U = k_e·z₁z₂e²/r | ## Learning objective After playing, a learner can predict whether two chosen ions attract or repel, and how that force changes with distance. ## Limits and connections The sim draws a Bohr-style orbit picture and a single ion pair, so it omits true electron orbitals, polyatomic-ion shapes, and the many-body Madelung sums behind real lattice energies — but it faithfully captures the sign and distance dependence that drive ionic bonding. ## Poster & source <div class="microsim-fallback">  <p><em>Live microsim · <a href="https://wikitube-3d-microsims.netlify.app/Ion.html">open full</a> · source: Microsims for Dissemination/REACTION/Ion.html</em></p> </div>  *Built to the [[WT!Three_js_Microsim_Master_Class|three.js Master Class]].*  ## Wikipedia : Wikitube **Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Ion) ## Previous hub tags Tree parents: [[Helium]] · [[Helium-3]] · [[Hydrogen]]. Legacy hubs: `REACTION`. --- *Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*