TNN | Posted March 07, 2016 12:30 AM
Lewis showed how two electrons shared between two atoms give rise to a strong covalent bond. It is after this definition that chemists started working on various aspects of chemical bonding. One of the great personalities involved in understanding the chemical bond is Linus Pauling. We have many types of chemical bonds, some strong, some weak. Even weak chemical bonds give rise to interesting chemistry. For example, weak hydrogen bonds are involved in giving rise to interesting chemical structures including those of proteins and nucleic acids. Understanding of the chemical bond has led to a major revolution in chemistry since 1930s. The period 1940-70 may be considered to be one where bonding and structure in chemistry dominated the field. It is now exactly 100 years since the idea of the chemical bond was proposed by Lewis. It is such a great idea that it is worth celebrating its centenary.