This pull holds the sodium atom near the chlorine atom, making a molecule of salt - one of the most stable molecules on Earth. Most of the solid things in the universe - like rocks - use ionic bonds to hold themselves together. That's because those same electric forces affect other nearby molecules of salt as well
Salts are made up of positive metal ions and negative non-metal ions. The electrostatic force of attraction between the two opposite charges keeps the ions in the salt together.
