Electronegativity

    Electronegativity is the ability of an atom in a molecule to attract shared electrons to itself.  

    The most widely accepted method for determining values of electronegativity is that of Linus Pauling, an American scientist who won the Nobel Prizes for both chemistry and peace  To understand Pauling's model, consider a hypothetical molecule HX.  The relative electronegativities of the H and X atoms are determined by comparing the measured H-X bond energy with the "expected" H-X bond energy, which is an average of the H-H and X-X bond energies.