Helium, a noble gas, was long believed to be 'too aloof' to react with the other elements on the periodic table. Now, however, scientists have provided a theoretical explanation of how helium may be ...

An Ionic bond is formed when one of the atoms can donate electrons to achieve the inert gas electron configuration and the other atom needs electrons to achieve the inert gas electron configuration.

The chemical bond formed by the transfer of electrons from one atom to another is called ionic bond. It is also known as electrovalent bond. And the compounds containing ionic bonds are called ionic ...

Remember that the lattice arrangement is giant - for example, a single grain of salt may contain 1.2 × 10 18 (1,200,000,000,000,000,000) ions. The lattice arrangement continues in three dimensions.

A small piece of sodium metal is placed in a flask of chlorine gas. A little water helps expose the sodium so it can react with the chlorine gas. The reaction releases a lot of heat as the ionic ...

Learn more on the properties of ionic compounds in this podcast. Listen to the full series on BBC Sounds. Ionic compounds have high melting and boiling points, so they are in the solid state at room ...