[Wonder Warthog]

"How would they become negatively charged?"

By grabbing electrons from other atoms. Many of the fission product nuclei are halogens (I-131 for example), and the final preferred charge state of any halogen to be negatively charged.

[WildTurkey]

By grabbing electrons from other atoms. Many of the fission product nuclei are halogens (I-131 for example), and the final preferred charge state of any halogen to be negatively charged.

I-131 forms a diatomic molecule via a covalent bond. It is not "negatively" charged.

[WildTurkey]

Themes > Science > Chemistry > Inorganic Chemistry > More Information about Chemical Bonding > The Covalent Bond

is based upon electron-pair sharing and is the attraction between two atoms that share electrons. A single covalent bond is a bond in which two atoms are held together by sharing two electrons.

Each positive nucleus is attracted toward the region of high electron density between them:





1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p2 3p2 3p1 3p1 3p2 3p2 3s2 2p6 2s2 1s2

The bonded atoms come close enough together for their electron clouds to overlap.

Covalent bonds form between atoms when ionic or metallic bonding is unlikely because the gain or loss of electrons requires large amounts of energy.