‘WHAT? By giving up its lone outer electron, a sodium atom achieves a desirable quantum mechanical configuration and is left with a positive charge. By accepting an extra electron, chlorine fills its eight electrons and gains a negative charge. The charged ions are then held together to make molecules and crystals of common salt (NaCl) by electrostatic forces… Lassie, are you absolutely sure that’s what the professor told you?’
The US-EU trade deal has been given a lukewarm reception in Europe. Although the agreement between US president Donald Trump and the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is merely a framework, rather than a full-trade deal, there are already major concerns on the continent, especially in Germany – a country famously