What are Covalent Bonds?
Covalent bonds are the strongest type of chemical bond and are created between atoms with similar electronegativity. In general, electronegativity increases as you move to the right of the periodic table and decreases as you move down the periodic table. Electronegativity is not an atomic property, but emerges when atoms interact with other atoms. According to modern atomic theory, atoms have electrons circling them in shells called orbitals. Each orbital has a maximum number of electrons, and each atom “wants” to max out its electrons in each orbital. Noble gases are the most stable elements because their electron orbitals all carry the maximum number of electrons. They are incapable of forming covalent bonds. When two or more atoms have similar electronegativity, conditions are ripe for covalent bonding. The electron orbitals of both atoms are seeking a similar number of other electrons to max out their electron shells. When the atoms are brought together, their electron shells inter
