Chemistry is like… dating

Chemistry is not just the pursuit of scientific knowledge, it’s also the butterflies that we feel when we meet someone special. Attraction brings together both people and particles, and when the conditions are right, bonds form.

A good place to start our analogy would be with diatomic molecules. We could say the diatomic elements, N₂, O₂, H₂, F₂, Cl₂, Br₂ and I₂, represent relationships with our best friends. As we outgrow the stage of our lives when the opposite sex appears to be universally infected with ‘the lurgy’, we may progress to diatomic compounds. For example, two pairs of friends go bowling and leave later as double dates. Similarly, H₂ and Cl₂ molecules come together and depart as two love-struck HCl molecules.