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Can an atom have more than 8 valence electrons? If not, why is 8 the limit?

I was watching this youtube clip ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY1XLgHUAIQ ) in which a lewis diagram was drawn for a sulfite ion.

Sulfur ends up with four bonds as well as a lone pair of electrons. This gives sulfur 10 electrons. Isn't this too many?

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  • $\begingroup$ Hi DLA, it is a nice question. It has been asked already, in a somewhat more generic manner, so I am closing yours as a duplicate. The short answer is: yes, it is possible! This behavior of elements from the third period and lower is called hypervalence. $\endgroup$ – F'x Oct 30 '12 at 21:29

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