Bus Analogy

In hybridisation, we have the idea that the energy at the atomic levels are changing - they're not going to be the same as an isolated atom on its own. Think about if you were sitting next to someone on the bus. You would sit there differently than if you were sitting there alone. If you're the only person on the bus and then somebody else gets on the bus, how would you feel if they came and sat right next to you? We know instinctively they wouldn't do that. Electrons are a bit the same. They won't sit in the same spot. Once all the seats have someone in them then they’ll sit next to you. But of course like with all analogies there're problems. You can make it more complicated. You can then start to say, imagine the front of the bus is where you want to be. Then you'll sit there. Then someone else who wants to sit at the front will also sit there. It starts to lose its impact, but they do get it.

Or let’s say you get agitated with the person sitting next to you and so you're in a high energy state now. You can only be reduced to a lower energy state if that person moves to a seat of their own. That's why copper 1 is d10.