metallic bond The chemical bond that links the atoms in a solid metal. The atoms are ionized and electrons move fairly freely among them as an ‘electron gas’, the bond being between the electropositive atoms and the electrons. It is the free electrons that give metals their high electrical and thermal conductivities. See also COVALENT BOND, HYDROGEN BOND, and IONIC BOND.

metallic bond The chemical bond that links the atoms in a solid metal. The atoms are ionized and electrons move fairly freely among them as an ‘electron gas’, the bond being between the electropositive atoms and the electrons. It is the free electrons that give metals their high electrical and thermal conductivities. See also COVALENT BOND; HYDROGEN BOND; IONIC BOND.

metallic bond The chemical bond that links the atoms in a solid metal. The atoms are ionized and electrons move fairly freely among them as an ‘electron gas’, the bond being between the electropositive atoms and the electrons. It is the free electrons that give metals their high electrical and thermal conductivities. See also covalent bond, hydrogen bond, and ionic bond.

metallic bond A special type of covalent bond found in such solids as native copper. Every atom shares its electrons with each of its neighbours in turn. The sharing atoms must be able to move and so in metals they appear to be positive ions moving in a sea of electrons.