Question

In a piece of metal, what holds the atoms together?

Answer 1

Chemical bonding is the creation of a chemical compound by forming a chemical link between two or more atoms, molecules, or ions. The atoms in the resulting molecule are held together by chemical bonds.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
Metallic bonds are electrostatic forces that hold the atoms in a metal together.
The electron configuration of sodium is $1{s^2}2{s^2}2{p^6}3{s^1}$ ; its valence shell contains one electron. Metallic sodium has an array of $N{a^ + }$ ions in the solid state, which are surrounded by a sea of $3s$ electrons. Metallic sodium, on the other hand, is not an ion because the sea of electrons is shared by all sodium cations, quenching the positive charge.
The following factors influence the strength of a metallic bond:
The number of electrons delocalized from the metal: the higher the number of delocalized electrons, the stronger the bond between the metal cation and the electron sea.
The magnitude of the charge: the greater the magnitude of the charge, the stronger the force of attraction between the electron sea and the cations.
The smaller the cation's ionic radius, the more effective the nuclear charge acting on the electron sea.

Note:
Ionic bonds are formed when two chemical species exchange electrons. They're caused by a difference in the linked atoms' electronegativities. Metallic bonds, on the other hand, occur when a solid, defined lattice of metal cations interacts with a sea of delocalized valence electrons. Both of these modes of bonding, however, rely on electrostatic attraction.