scary...

Yup, there is. It is pretty straight forward as I remmember. It deals with the fact that every ion wants to be at a balanced charge, which is eight electrons in the outermost valence shell. Hence there being eight collums(sp?) of normal elements. The ones in the middle on the periodic table are metals, FYI for anyone who didnt know. Anyways, the particles are all reaching for the eight electrons, but as they gain electrons, they aslo gain protons, which is a positive. The positive charge isd actually more powerful and this causes the particle to get bigger and bigger as it gains electrons until it reaches 9, which then creates a new shell. Any ways, about the law, it actually ties into the conservation of mass and energy. The charge is a representation (in some respects) of the particles energy. When a reaction occurs, such as

2H+O=H2O

The charge is the same on the left as it is on the right. This comes in when you balance a chemical reaction, which gives you the ratio to preform the reaction. So, without charge conservation, the "energy" is lost(Im using the term energy loosly in this context, but it gets the idea across).
Im betting rtm can shed more light on this if he takes the time, but Im in a rush! Cheers!


//oh yeah, sharkshark, I do in fact know everything that I said in earlier posts. AsI said, its a hobby. [/quote]

er....

lol im with Liquescence

No seriously I actually more or less follow along. The operation and the balance of the Universe has always been an intruiging subject to me. However I, unlike SmokenJoe and rtm, did not set upon the pursuit of knowledge necessary to bring about an understanding. So I am actually thouroughly enjoying this thread, while at the same time am ,ever so slightly, green with envy .

I just had a really good chem techer in High School who got me interested in it. Its kinda random knowledge, but useful in some cases. And, of course, damn interesting.