James wrote: > Then why does a silver nitrate solution not form into a sol? If the single > atom of silver is missing an electron, it will be repelling another like > ion. Or do the VDW forces overcome the like-charge repulsion?
You are mixing apples and oranges. I was referring to an single atom. A single atom missing an electron is an ion. Ions are dispersed by mutual repulsion owing to ionic charge. Van der Waals' force does not overcome the ionic charge. If the atom is neutral, which means it has all of its electrons, there is no ionic charge, thus no mutual repulsion, then van der Waals' force pull the atoms together to form particles. This all started when you stated that a single atom is dissolved in water, which it is not. Take away an electron, then it is dessolved in water because it is now an ion. The silver in silver nitrate solutions is ionic silver (not metallic silver) so it is dissolved. frank key -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
