here's your monthly (/ yearly) reminder to use simple language wherever possible.
bonus content:
this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2026
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You know, I have a PhD in chemistry. I started off trying to explain what "floofier" means in ELI5, but honestly, I can't. Not without writing several pages, diving deeper and deeper.
In this case, it is the nephelauxetic effect, which literally translates to "cloud expanding". But that's not an accurate translation either, because it's only a very specific bit of the electron cloud for a specific ion in a specific spot in a molecule.
There are at least half a dozen ways to make an ion "floofier" that don't apply here and/or wouldn't be paper worthy at all.