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Chemomechanics t1_jd4ptcm wrote on March 21, 2023 at 8:36 PM

Reply to comment by nobody_in_here in Can a single atom be determined to be in any particular phase of matter? by Zalack

> Like it becomes free Na and Cl just floating around in water right?

They aren't free, they're solvated—that is, they're stabilized through interactions with the surrounding solvent. This is why they don't immediately bond, so we can't remove this crucial aspect.