Work

A connection between chemical and electrical phenomena became apparent in the 19th century, but it was unclear just what this relationship was. Svante Arrhenius studied how electrical current is conducted in chemical solutions. In 1883 he proposed a theory that when rock salt (which consists of sodium and chlorine) is dissolved in water, it splits into sodium atoms with positive electrical charges and chlorine atoms with negative charges. These electrically charged atoms, ions, allow the solution to conduct electricity.