I need to know, in terms of electronic charge - the electrophiles and nucleophiles involved - how the electronegativity of the potassium and hydrogen atoms alongside the hydroxide and H+ ions result in this reaction taking place. You could also think of this as asking why this reaction is exothermic from an organic chemistry perspective - why are the products more stable in terms of their electronic arrangement. It might be helpful to have the mechanism explained perhaps.
$$\ce{2K + 2H2O -> 2KOH + H2}$$
Of course, I have learnt before that potassium is higher up the reactivity series than hydrogen, but what does this mean on a deeper level - what factors mean that potassium is more reactive than hydrogen in terms of electron arrangement.
