What is ionization?

Study for the Dental Radiology Foundation Chain and Physics Test. Enhance your skills with flashcards and multiple-choice questions, complete with hints and explanations. Prepare for your success!

Ionization is the process of removing electrons from atoms, creating charged species. When an electron is ejected, the atom becomes a positively charged ion and a free electron is left behind—together they form an ion pair. This is exactly what happens when high-energy radiation such as X-rays interacts with matter: energy transfer ejects electrons, generating ion pairs that enable the radiation-matter interaction and subsequent signal creation. The other options describe different processes: adding electrons would be reduction, not ionization; atoms forming molecules is chemical bonding; emitting photons is radiation emission, not ionization.