November 3, 2014

#1442: Chemistry explain

[A large capital letter “H”, with faint gray circles drawn on the ends of each of the four legs.]

Hydrogen can form four bonds. It readily bonds with itself, and often exists as a crystal.

[A lattice of several H’s, all “bonded” together at the ends of their legs in a crisscross, meshlike pattern, labeled:]

Crystalline hydrogen

[A large capital letter “C”, with faint gray circles drawn on both ends of the arc.]

Carbon can only form two bonds. It readily bonds with hydrogen to form C2H (mydrane) or itself.

[Image of a C and an inverted C, linked at their endpoints, labeled:]

C2

[Image of two C’s linked with an H between them, labeled:]

C2H

[A large capital letter “O”.]

Oxygen is inert, forming no bonds…

[Image of several lone O’s, none connected to anything, labeled:]

Monatomic oxygen gas.

[Caption at bottom:]

Typographic chemistry