Editing Openai/69227557-0850-8003-9c19-8f26825e337d (section)

==== At the most fundamental level, the attraction comes from the Coulomb force within the electron–nucleus system: ====

F=14πϵ0q1q2r2F = \frac{1}{4\pi\epsilon_0}\frac{q_1 q_2}{r^2}F=4πϵ01r2q1q2
Specifically:
* The electrons of one atom are attracted to the nucleus of the other.
* If the electronic wavefunctions overlap constructively, the system can reorganize into a lower-energy quantum state (a molecular orbital).

This attraction competes with:
* electron–electron repulsion
* nucleus–nucleus repulsion

A bond forms only if the net energy decrease (from electron–nucleus attraction + quantum delocalization) outweighs the repulsive terms.