New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lewis structure in chemistry

Lewis structures, also called electron-dot structures or electron-dot diagrams, are diagrams that show the bonding between atoms of a molecule, and the lone pairs of electrons that may exist in the molecule. A Lewis structure can be drawn for any covalently-bonded molecule, as well as coordination compounds. Lewis structures show each atom in the structure of the molecule using its chemical symbol. Lines are drawn between atoms that are bonded to one another (rarely, pairs of dots are used instead of lines). Excess electrons that form lone pairs are represented as pair of dots, and are placed next to the atoms on which they reside. The Lewis structure for an individual atom is drawn by placing a dot around the atom for each valence electron available. There are four positions available for dots to be placed; most chemists draw them on the top, left, bottom, and right of the atom.

Related Stories
 


Matter & Energy News

August 7, 2026

Scientists have demonstrated that heat can move through a crystal in focused, wave-like rays at room temperature instead of spreading randomly. The breakthrough could make it possible to route heat around sensitive parts of next-generation chips and ...
A new hollow nanoreactor mimics living cells to make hydrogen peroxide more efficiently using visible light. Its light-trapping cavity and proton-shuttling shell could open new possibilities for cleaner chemical manufacturing and artificial ...
Scientists have successfully generated electricity with a hydrogen turbine that produces its own pressure through detonation waves instead of relying on a mechanical compressor. The breakthrough could unlock dramatically more efficient power systems ...
A new 3D printing technique can produce exceptionally hard tungsten carbide cobalt while using less of its expensive raw materials. By softening rather than fully melting the material, researchers created defect-free samples with industrial-grade ...
Researchers have found a way to build much larger “twisted” oxide materials while precisely controlling how their atomic layers line up. Because these materials can be made over large areas and transferred onto different surfaces, the technique ...
A surprisingly simple change could make sodium-ion batteries far more powerful while opening the door to turning seawater into drinking water. Researchers at the University of Surrey found that sodium vanadium oxide performs much better when its ...
A new chemical process can transform three of the most common plastics into high-purity hydrogen without sorting them first. The technique operates at much lower temperatures than traditional ...
Scientists have built the first all-optical photonic time crystal, allowing them to reshape the behavior of terahertz light at extraordinary speeds. The breakthrough could open the door to ultrafast computing, smarter communication systems, advanced ...
Engineers have transformed a notoriously brittle cobalt-aluminum compound into a material that is both extremely strong and capable of bending without breaking. Their nanoscale design produced a ...
Rice University chemists have found a new way to make neodymium, a rare-earth metal, interact with oxygen. Using a specially designed molecular structure described as a “basket,” the team positioned the atoms so they could form a bond once ...
Scientists have created twisted laser beams that interact differently with right-handed and left-handed molecules, revealing their identity through the fragments they produce. The approach could provide a faster, simpler, and more sensitive way to ...
Researchers discovered a proton-assisted mechanism that greatly improves how triplet energy moves between quantum dots and nearby molecules. The proton briefly shifts position, helps coordinate electron movement, and then returns to where it ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET