Generally speaking, most chemical reactions have activation barriers: there is a minimum energy required for the chemical reaction to take place. There are molecular bonds to break before new ones can form. Also, a reaction may not be favorable because the energy of the products might be higher than the energy of the reactants.cj20x2 said:Also, another thing I don't understand is why don't the atoms in my hand bond with atoms on the wall when they come into contact.
ProfuselyQuarky said:Do you know the definition of an ionic bond?
No, it depends. That has everything to do with the availability or absence of free energy. See @DrClaude's post. Is that the answer you're looking for?cj20x2 said:I'm having a hard time getting the wording right for what I'm trying to ask. Basically if possible, if you were to take a single instance of an element, and make it interact with a completely different element would it automatically create a bond between the 2 or are there other things that determine if the elements will bond or not.