Note 61 — Chapter IV · THE THEORY OF IONIZATION; IONIZATION AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY

A fourth interpretation advanced at one time in opposition to the theory of ionization is that salts like sodium chloride and zinc chloride are hydrolyzed and thereby produce more solute molecules, e.g. NaCl + H2O → NaOH + HCl. Aside from the fact that such hydrolysis of salts, when it does occur (Chapter X.), is easily detected, and that it can be proved not to occur appreciably in the case of sodium chloride (loc. cit.), this interpretation fails utterly to account for the results obtained with acids, e.g. HCl, HNO3, H2SO4, and with bases, e.g. NaOH, Ba(OH)2, which in aqueous solutions show an increase in the number of molecules as great as shown by salts. This explanation is therefore untenable.