Cation

CATION, a name given by Faraday to an atom or chemical radical carrying a positive electric charge and moving toward the negative electrode (cathode) during electrolysis. The charge of a cation may equal one, two, or a greater number of elementary electric charges, with the number of charges always equal to the number of valences. The number of charges is indicated by the corresponding number of crosses or, more frequently, dots placed to the right above the chemical symbol of the atom or radical. For example: Na+, NH₄+, Ca++, La+++ _or Na', NH₄', Ca"', La'"'. According to the theory of electrolytic dissociation by Arrhenius, cations do not appear in solution at the moment an electric current passes through it, but are formed when the electrolyte dissolves. According to the modern theory of the structure of heteropolar compounds, ions exist even in the solid state (their existence has been proven in crystals of strong electrolytes) and only acquire greater mobility in solutions due to the weakening of the electrostatic forces acting between them. KATO, Genichi, professor of physiology at the university in Tokyo (Japan), a major specialist in neuromuscular physiology. Author of the monograph "Theory of decrementless conduction in narcotised region of nerve" (Nankodo-Tokyo, 1924-26), which presents a summary of the research of K. himself and his colleagues; they established that excitation, decreasing in the narcotized section of the nerve, is fully restored upon exiting this section; with high degrees of narcosis, excitability and conductivity disappear simultaneously.