Recent developments in the bond valence model of inorganic bonding

The valences of bonds can be predicted from the bonding network using (by analogy with electrical networks) Kirchhoff-like equations which lead to the definition of a new atomic property, the Valence Potential. The computer algorithm used in this prediction indicates that the electrons on any ion tend to be shared equally between all the bonds and that, despite appearances to the contrary, the rules of bonding around cations and anions are …