In reply to Robin van Spaandonk's message of Sun, 20 Nov 2005 12:57:17 +1100: Hi, [snip] I wrote: >Furthermore, the statement you make must also be true of all >ordinary ionic compounds. So, while reducing the positive ion with >a free electron determines the upper limit of the bond >strength[1], the Hyh compounds should nevertheless be stronger
..then promptly forgot all about the [1]. [1] Of course, by analogy, the same goes for removing an electron from the negative ion. The actual upper limit on the bond strength is then the minimum of the two possibilities. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://users.bigpond.net.au/rvanspaa/ Competition provides the motivation, Cooperation provides the means.
