📜 Theorem, law or theory

Electrolytic dissociation theory and Arrhenius acid-base definition

Teoría de la disociación electrolítica y definición ácido-base de Arrhenius

Date
1884-1887 · confidence high
Place
Uppsala, Sweden
Credited to
Svante Arrhenius
People
👤 Svante August Arrhenius1859–1927
Field
Matter & energy

What was discovered

Electrolytes dissociate into ions on dissolving in water, which explains conductivity and colligative properties; acids release H+ and bases OH-. Together with Ostwald and van 't Hoff, it founds physical chemistry as a discipline.

His 1884 thesis was given the lowest possible pass mark; Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1903.

What it led to

  • Chemistry of solutions
  • pH scale
  • Modern electrochemistry
  • Later acid-base theories
🕸️ View in the graph

Built on

Made possible

📄 Original publication

Über die Dissociation der in Wasser gelösten StoffeSvante Arrhenius · Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie · 1887

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