n :  an arrangement of salts, anions, or cations in descending order of their effect upon a physical phenomenon (as the swelling of gelatin) - called also lyotropic series 
 
Hofmeister, Franz (1850-1922), Austro-German chemist. Hofmeister is known for his work on proteins, metabolism, and the chemistry of colloids. In 1888 he discovered the relative power of different anions to precipitate lyophilic salts. The Hofmeister series is not only fundamental to theories of lyophilic colloids and systems, but it is also important to physiology.
 
 
 
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