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Metallic Solids

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State

A metallic solid is held by metallic bonding, a shared "sea" of delocalized electrons around fixed metal atom positions.

Show

Copper conducts electricity and heat well and hammers into new shapes without shattering, both from delocalized-electron bonding.

Watch for

Calling a solid "metallic" does not imply a uniformly high melting point — liquid mercury and transition metals above 1000 °C share the same delocalized-electron bonding.