i mean what happens electronwise? they always put the same example all the time of NaCL but that does not help me understand how elecvtrons reactbecause one is very reactive and the other is very elctronegativebut what if their electrons dont meet the exact supply and demand? what if we have silicon (4 in its outer shell) and aluminium (3 in its outer shell) will they react?or calcium (2 outer shell) and nitrogen (5 in outer shell)They use NaCl as an example because it is simpleAs soon as you move away from these simple compounds, things get much more complicatedIn the case of AlSi, there are no simple AlSi compoundsA combination of Al and Si produces an alloy, actually a very common casting alloy is Al+Si because it forms a broad range of alloys with melting ranges less than Si or Al Al and Si are fully soluble in each other when molten but, as it freezes, the Si and Al separate (mostly) and form a two phase alloy with areas of Al with a little Si in it and areas of Si with a little Al in it I am not aware of any Ca nitride compounds but there are many nitrides used in industryTi-nitride is the gold colored coating applied to many drill bits because: 1) it sticks to steel very well (when applied correctly) 2) it is very very hard and 3) it prevents rustYou should not feel bad if you feel that there are things about electrons you do not understandUnderstanding how electrons behave is difficult, the best scientists we have still don\'t understand everything about all the ways that electrons behaveI believe it was Einstein who said that, if you can\'t explain something to a 5 year old, maybe you don\'t understand it very wellQuantum mechanics (the math that describes how we think electrons behave in pretty gory detail) certainly qualifies as something we can not explain to a 5 year oldhope this helpsOther related question