Bond length is the distance between the centers of two bonded atoms. On the potential energy curve, the bond length is the internuclear distance between the two atoms when the potential energy of the system reaches its lowest value. Consider that the atomic radius (sometimes called the covalent or bonding atomic radius) of an element is defined as one-half the distance between the bonded atoms in a homonuclear diatomic molecule. Actual bond lengths in molecules are determined experimentally by such methods as X-ray diffraction and microwave spectroscopy. However, these atomic radii values can be used to give an estimate of the upper limit of bond length in other (heteronuclear) molecules. Given that the atomic radii of H and Cl are 37.0 pm and 100. pm , respectively, predict the upper limit of the bond length of the HCl molecule.