ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Fajans–Paneth–Hahn Law

Okay kiddo, have you ever played with magnets before? You know how they can attract or repel each other, right?

Well, this Fajans-Paneth-Hahn Law is kind of like how magnets work. But instead of magnets, we're talking about chemicals.

You see, some chemicals really like to hang on to electrons - those are called "electronegative" chemicals. And other chemicals don't want electrons as much - those are called "electropositive" chemicals.

Now, imagine you have two chemicals that really like to hang on to electrons. When they come together, they both want to take electrons from each other. It's like two magnets with the same side facing each other - they push each other away. That's called a repulsion.

But if you have one chemical that really likes electrons and one that doesn't want them as much, they'll stick together. It's like a magnet with opposite sides facing each other - they attract each other. That's called an attraction.

The Fajans-Paneth-Hahn Law is a way to predict whether chemicals will stick together or repel each other based on their electronegativity and electropositivity. If two chemicals have similar electronegativity, they'll repel each other. But if one is much more electronegative than the other, they'll stick together.

So, it's kind of like predicting how magnets will behave, but with chemicals and electrons instead!