# Electrolytic dissociation

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrolytic-dissociation/695457>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 13, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrolytic-dissociation/695457 "2014-08-13T19:35:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Qwertol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrolytic-dissociation/695457/1 "2014-08-13T19:35:39Z")

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Where does energy come from when an acid undergoes electrolytic dissociation? Does it come from the heat of the solvent?

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**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/electrolytic-dissociation/695457/2 "2014-08-14T03:04:21Z")

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The term your looking for is “heat of solvation,” if I’m reading your question correctly, (although I’m not sure what the term " electrolytic" refers to in this case). The positively-charged proton released from the acid gloms onto a pair of free electrons from the oxygen in a nearby water molecule, creating a hydronium ion. The surrounding water molecules orient themselves around the ion so that their negative dipole (Oxygen) face the positive ion, creating transient dipole-dipole interactions, with a concomitent decrease in energy.