Bonding in solids

This chapter talks about X-ray diffraction which is related to the structures of metallic, ionic, and molecular solids. It reviews some typical results and their rationalization in terms of atomic and ionic radii and discusses the electronic structure of metallic and ionic solids. It also demonstrates how atoms and molecules aggregate into metallic, ionic, molecular, and covalently bonded solids. The chapter analyzes the different characteristic types of bonding that result in several types of solids with characteristic physical properties. It explains the coordination number of an atom in a metal, which is the number of its nearest neighbours, noting elemental metals that have close-packed structures with coordination number 12.