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Metallic solids have, by definition, no band gap at the Fermi level and hence are conducting. Solids with purely metallic bonding are characteristically ductile and, in their pure forms, have low strength; melting points can [inconsistent] be very low (e.g., Mercury melts at 234 K (−39 °C)). These properties are consequences of the non ...
For example, a transfer of a single electron between atoms is a useful approximation for bonds that form between atoms with one-electron more than a filled shell, and others that are one-electron short of a full shell, such as occurs in the compound sodium chloride and other chemical ionic salts. Many elements display multiple valences, or ...
In a solid, constituent particles (ions, atoms, or molecules) are closely packed together. The forces between particles are so strong that the particles cannot move freely but can only vibrate. As a result, a solid has a stable, definite shape, and a definite volume. Solids can only change their shape by an outside force, as when broken or cut.
The thermal properties of molecular solids (as, for instance, specific heat capacity, thermal expansion, and thermal conductance to name a few) are determined by the intra- and intermolecular vibrations of the atoms and molecules of the molecular solid.
This definition goes beyond atoms and molecules, however, to include substances made from these building blocks that are not simply atoms or molecules, for example electron beams in an old cathode ray tube television, or white dwarf matter—typically, carbon and oxygen nuclei in a sea of degenerate electrons. At a microscopic level, the ...
A network solid or covalent network solid (also called atomic crystalline solids or giant covalent structures) [1] [2] is a chemical compound (or element) in which the atoms are bonded by covalent bonds in a continuous network extending throughout the material.
The scientific definition of a "crystal" is based on the microscopic arrangement of atoms inside it, called the crystal structure. A crystal is a solid where the atoms form a periodic arrangement. (Quasicrystals are an exception, see below). Not all solids are crystals.
Atomic physics primarily considers atoms in isolation. Atomic models will consist of a single nucleus that may be surrounded by one or more bound electrons. It is not concerned with the formation of molecules (although much of the physics is identical), nor does it examine atoms in a solid state as condensed matter.