treated as an electric capacitor (two equal and opposite charges linked by electrostatic flux). The bond network is thus equivalent to a capacitive electrical circuit with the charge on each capacitor being equivalent to the bond valence. The individual bond capacitors are not initially known, but in the absence of any information to the contrary we assume that they are all equal. In this case the circuit can be solved using the Kirchhoff equations, yielding the valences of each bond. Eq. 2 can then be used to calculate bond lengths which are found to lie within a few picometres of the observed bond lengths if no additional constraints are present. Additional constraints include electronic anisotropies (lone pairs and Jahn-Teller distortions) or steric constraints, (bonds stretched or compressed in order to fit them into three-dimensional space). Hydrogen bonds are an example of a steric constraint. The repulsion resulting from the close approach of the donor and acceptor atoms causes the bonds to be stretched, and under this constraint the distortion theorem predicts that the hydrogen atom will move off-center. The bond valence is a vector directed along the bond since it represents the electrostatic field linking the ions. If the atom is unconstrained, the sum of the bond valence vectors around an atom is expected to be zero, a condition that limits the range of possible bond angles. Strengths and limitations of the model The bond valence model is an extension of the electron counting rules and its strength lies in its simplicity and robustness. Unlike most models of chemical bonding, it does not require a prior knowledge of the atomic positions and so can be used to construct chemically plausible structures given only the composition. The empirical parameters of the model are tabulated and are readily transferable between bonds of the same type. The concepts used are familiar to chemists and provide ready insight into the chemical restraints acting on the structure. The bond valence model uses mostly classical physics, and with little more than a pocket calculator, it gives quantitative predictions of bond lengths and places limits on what structures can be formed. However, like all models, the bond valence model has its limitations. It is restricted to compounds with localized bonds; it does not, in general, apply to metals or aromatic compounds where the electrons are delocalized. It cannot in principle predict electron density distributions or energies since