Metallic structure and bonding
In metals, the Subatomic particle, with a negative charge and a negligible mass relative to protons and neutrons. leave the outer shells of metal The smallest part of an element that can exist., forming positive metal Electrically charged particle, formed when an atom or molecule gains or loses electrons. and a ‘sea’ of Electrons that are not associated with a particular atom, eg in a metal, outer electrons can be free to move through the solid. electrons. The structure of a solid metal consists of closely packed metal ions, arranged in a regular way to form a metallic A regular grid-like arrangement of atoms in a material. structure.
Chemical formulae
Metallic lattices do not contain fixed numbers of atoms. This means that the chemical formula used for a metal is simply the symbol for the element. For example, the formula for iron is Fe, even though a piece of iron contains very many iron atoms.
Learn more on metallic bonding in this podcast.
Listen to the full series on BBC Sounds.