Question

In free condition of sodium atom and sodium ion which is more stable.

Answer 1

definitely the ion

ion is stable because it has a filled outer shell
where as sodium atom has a single electron on its outer shell, and it tends to be explosive when introduced to air or water

Answer 2

According Physics ..what a stable object called- a object said to be stable if it can't change its position.
and experimentally we can saw when we put a sodium ion in free palace and pass a charge by it the ion definitely changed is position according Coulombs law.(unlike or like charge)
Then how should Na ion is more stable than its atom.
??

Answer 3

stability in chemistry usually refers to reactivity
then again im not an expert in chemistry

Answer 4

and also if Na ion is stable then what it required to make Nacl . ?

Answer 5

a chlorine ion
NaCl is a ionic compound
\[Na^+ +Cl^-\]

Answer 6

a chlorine ion would be more stable than a chlorine atom

do not mistake chlorine atom which is Cl for chlorine gas which is Cl2

Answer 7

{i think any charge species is less stable than its neutral.}
Na atom is more stable than Na ion in free condition
But
Na ion is more stable than its atom if Na ion is of Nacl Crystal.
Usually we say Its ion is more stable than it atom its because Na ion never find in free condition it always find in bond form (Nacl) - and in ionic bond Na ion is more stable than its atom.

Answer 8

If you mean all alone, then of course the neutral sodium atom is more stable. That's why gas-phase sodium would be all neutral sodium atoms. Furthermore, the ionization potential for sodium is about 500 kJ/mol, which means you need to *supply* a hefty amount of energy to get Na to turn into Na+.

That said, there are situations in which a sodium atom is *less* stable than the cation. The most obvious one is when there are lots of chlorine atoms around. In that case, by transferring an electron from Na to Cl, forming Na+ and Cl-, both of which are less stable in isolation than Na and Cl, you can then form crystalline NaCl, an ionic compound. And the energy you gain by forming the ionic compound (the "lattice energy") is so much more than the energy required to create the Na+ and Cl- in the first place, that in this particular situation the Na+ and Cl- are more stable.