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To understand bond formation, it is necessary to know the general features of the electronic structure of atoms—that is, the arrangement of electrons around the central nucleus. For background information about this subject and further details, see atom. The modern version of atomic structure begins with Ernest Rutherford’s recognition that an atom consists of a single, central, massive, positively charged nucleus surrounded by electrons. The number of protons in the nucleus is the atomic number, Z, of the element. (For hydrogen Z = 1, and for carbon Z = 6.) A proton is positively charged, and an electron carries an ...(100 of 27318 words)