ionize

verb

ion·ize | \ ˈī-ə-ˌnīz

ionized; ionizing

Definition of ionize

transitive verb

: to convert wholly or partly into ions

intransitive verb

: to become ionized

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Examples of ionize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Consumers have been reluctant to embrace irradiation, which exposes food products to ionizing radiation, and organic standards don’t allow its use. — Virginia Gewin, Washington Post, "Produce growers get new ammunition in the battle against outbreaks," 22 July 2019 The most prominent absorption lines of hydrogen and ionized oxygen are at very short wavelengths, in the ultraviolet and X-ray portions of the spectrum. — Quanta Magazine, "A Short History of the Missing Universe," 19 Sep. 2018 Gunn and a fellow graduate student, Bruce Peterson, noticed that the light from these quasars was missing a signature of neutral hydrogen, meaning the hydrogen gas surrounding the objects must have been ionized by starlight. — Quanta Magazine, "The Astronomer Who’d Rather Build Space Cameras," 18 Apr. 2019 The sample is vaporized via heating, and bombarded with an electron beam to ionize the molecules. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Study brings us one step closer to solving 1994 thallium poisoning case," 25 Dec. 2018 The comet's green glow is due to cyanide and carbon molecules becoming ionized by the warmth of the sun. — Temi Adebowale, Popular Mechanics, "Look Up! You Might Be Able to See a Green Comet Tonight," 7 Aug. 2018 Cell phones emit radiofrequency energy, a form of non-ionizing radiation, and the tissues in our bodies closest to the phone can absorb this energy. — Jacqueline Howard, CNN, "Brain tumors on the rise in England, raising cell phone concerns," 2 May 2018 The atmosphere of Pluto interacts with solar winds and ionizes Pluto, giving it a tail that stretches across the system and out into space. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "Here's What We Know About Pluto So Far," 17 July 2015 The intense ultraviolet light from this era caused this murky neutral hydrogen to get excited and ionize, or gain electric charge, and the gas has remained in that state since that time. — Charles Q. Choi, Scientific American, "Oldest Supermassive Black Hole Found from Universe’s Infancy," 6 Dec. 2017

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