Comments on the paper by A. D. Walsh
I agree very much with Dr Walsh that a satisfactory knowledge of effective atomic electronegativities is very important and that we should concentrate on obtaining such knowledge. The effective electronegativity of an atom varies, of course, in different circumstances. This appears to be the explanation of the difference in strength (length and force constant) of the C—H bonds in methane and acetylene. The effective attraction of the carbon atom for the electrons in a C—H bond in methane is a resultant of the attraction of the carbon nucleus plus Is core and the repulsion of the electrons associated with the other three C—H bonds. In acetylene the effective attraction of the carbon atom for the electrons in the C—H bond is the resultant of the attraction of the nucleus plus core and the repulsion of the electrons in the triple bond. Because these last six electrons are drawn away into the triple bond on the far side of the carbon atom from the C—H bond it seems that their repulsion on the electrons in the C—H bond is less than that of the six electrons in the three other C—H bonds in methane which are relatively nearer.