  The parameters Phi and N of Miedema are quoted precise to the second decimal
place and are considered very accurate after adjustment in their values to
correctly predict the signs of the heats of formation of more than 500 metallic
binary systems. In this paper, we argue that Phi is proportional to the
electronegativity (Chi) of metallic elements and that N^(1/3) is the valence
effective on a linear bond. We show that, with the above hypothesis, Chi can be
derived in the absolute sense, following Gordy, as the electrostatic potential
due to the effective charge of the nucleus of an atom in a metal, felt at the
mid-point of a bond to the nearest atom. The exponent 1/3 has its origin in the
high ligancy and resonance in metals. An excellent agreement with the
hypothesis is observed for the hypoelectronic elements, while the buffer and
hyperelectronic elements show interesting variations. It is argued that the
unlike atom pair bond energies, which are correlated to the distribution of
binary systems on the map constructed using the magnitudes of parameters del
Phi and del N of Miedema, originate from the scatter in the distribution of
elements in the electronegativity versus N^(1/3)/R graph. Since it is the
scatter that is important, we see that the small corrections effected by
Miedema et al. to the parameters Phi and N are significant in deciding the
energies involved. An interpretation is provided for the energy effects
involved in the alloying of metals.
