Contents - 1. The Free Atom- The contribution of spectroscopy - The Rutherford-Bohr model of the atom - Modern quantum theory - The Pauli exclusion principle - The periodic system - Isotopes - 2. The Bound Atom - Band structure - The attractive and repulsive forces in binding - Stable electron configurations - Ionic bonding - Covalent bonding - Van der Waals' forces - The metallic bond - Implications of the type of bond on the structure of elements - Implications on conductivity - 3. Constitution - Crystallographic principles - The unit cell - The face centred cubic lattice - The close-packed...