What does «compuestos polares y no-polares (apolares)» mean in Spanish?
- In chemistry, polar compounds are those in which the bond between their elements is made by transferring electrons from the outermost shell of one of them to the other. Thus, when a sodium atom, which has one electron in its outermost shell, unites with a chlorine atom, which has seven, the lone sodium electron passes to the chlorine atom, forming a sodium chloride molecule, composed of two electrically charged parts, one positive and the other negative, which are held together by an electrovalent bond. When sodium chloride is melted or dissolved in water, the bond weakens, the chlorine and sodium ions are released and the liquid conducts electric current. Other chemical compounds result from the bonding of their elements by sharing one or more pairs of electrons. In the methane molecule (CH4), the carbon atom, which has four electrons in its outer shell, combines with four hydrogen atoms, each with one electron. The carbon atom shares an electron with each of the hydrogen atoms, which in turn share theirs with the carbon. In this way, both the carbon atom and the hydrogen atoms complete a stable, noble gas-type electronic shell. Compounds formed in this way are called non-polar compounds. Carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and benzene are also examples of nonpolar compounds, which are usually readily volatile and soluble in other nonpolar compounds.