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electron pair

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Also known as Lewis pair, paired electrons

two electrons that occupy the same orbital but have opposite spins

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MO-covalent and polar bonds.svg
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In chemistry, an electron pair or Lewis pair consists of two electrons that occupy the same atomic or molecular orbital but have opposite spins. Gilbert N. Lewis introduced the concepts of both the electron pair and the covalent bond in a landmark paper he published in 1916.

MO diagrams depicting covalent (left) and polar covalent (right) bonding in a diatomic molecule. In both cases a bond is created by the formation of an electron pair.

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