Chemical stability

Chemical stability refers to the resistance of a chemical to change in a chemical reaction. Some chemicals, like gold, are very stable and resistant to change; but sodium is unstable and corrodes rapidly in the presence of air. When an atom has an extra electron or a missing electron, it is unstable. When that atom loses or gains the electron, it becomes stable. Stable atoms have lower energy than unstable ones.

Related pages
Chemical compound
Chemical equation
Chemistry

Category:Physical chemistry
Category:Materials science