Metallic structures and bonding

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Scientists explain the properties of materials in terms of structure and bonding.
 
A generalisation worth thinking about is that there are three main types of solid materials reflecting the three main kinds of strong chemical bonding:

metals with metallic bonding

polymers with covalent bonding

ceramics with ionic bonding

.
 
This is an appealing oversimplification and you will be able to think of plenty of exceptions.

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Tutorials

• Some exam "Dos and Don'ts": Metallic bonding

Webguides

• Tutorials about metal bonding and structure

Recently Asked Questions

• Why does magnesium have lower density than iron?
• Why is the melting point of sodium much lower than that of magnesium?
• Why do metals appear shiny?

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updated: 14 September 2003