Why is that, even after being covalent, carbon(C), with a valency of 4, isn’t able to form di-atomic molecules, when atoms of hydrogen(H) and nitrogen(N) can?

Question

Why is that, even after being covalent, carbon(C), with a valency of 4, isn’t able to form di-atomic molecules, when atoms of hydrogen(H) and nitrogen(N) can?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

[Carbon does form diatomic molecules](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomic_carbon), but it’s not stable at atmospheric pressure. But a potential reason why it doesn’t normally form a diatom is that there isn’t enough space in its electron orbits to accommodate all eight valence electrons.