ionization
    n 1: the condition of being dissociated into ions (as by heat or
         radiation or chemical reaction or electrical discharge);
         "the ionization of a gas" [syn: ionization, ionisation]
    2: the process of ionizing; the formation of ions by separating
       atoms or molecules or radicals or by adding or subtracting
       electrons from atoms by strong electric fields in a gas [syn:
       ionization, ionisation]

Ionization \I`on*i*za"tion\, n. (Elec. Chem.)
   the process of converting neutral atoms or molecules into
   ions. The process may occur by dissolving an ionic substance
   in a dissociating solvent, such as water, or by adding or
   subtracting an electron to or from an atom or molecule. The
   latter process occurs, for example, in an electron beam in a
   mass spectrometer and by interaction of substances with
   ionizing radiation.
   [PJC]