TFNR - Molecules
Molecules (including polyatomic ions) are aggregates of two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds.
They may be formed by atoms of the same species, or by different chemical elements.
Atoms can be connected by different types of bonds: covalent bonds, polar covalent bonds, ionic bonds, metallic bonds, etc., .
Molecules are the constituent elements of compounds, one of the fundamental objects of study of chemistry and molecular physics.
The spatial extent of molecules can range from the very little size of the smallest, diatomic hydrogen (with a bond length of 0.74 * 10-10 meters) to the macroscopic sizes of molecules of many inorganic and organic polymers ((such as proteins and DNA), in the order of about 10-10 to 10-9.
As with atoms, the size and shape of molecules depend on the state and dynamics of the molecule and the state and dynamics of the molecular environment (on the compounds of which the molecule take part). Properties of molecules can be intrinsic, mainly due to the interactions with (bonds) and the collective behavior of the atoms (and in turn of the atomic particles, nucleus and electrons) that compose them, and extrinsic, due to the interactions and collective behavior or the molecules in the compound.
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