Arrhenius' doctoral dissertation, which outlined the theory that some compounds dissociated into ions in solution, was accepted in 1884. This theory still was controversial in the 1890's
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| The conductivity of a solution is measured in a cell such as the
one pictured at the right. The cell is in a circuit through which
flows an alternating current. The resistance between the two plates
is measured; the conductivity is inversely proportional to this resistance.
The new theory of electrolytic dissociation states that metal salts are split into ions in aqueous solution. Werner claims that the metal ammonia complexes usually are positive ions in solution and that measured conductivities should correlate with the number of loosely bound groups in the compounds. |
 Conductivity Cell |