Sigma Bonds

[MariahClark 2F]

I was looking up stuff about sigma and pi bonds because I couldn't be in class on Friday and this site said,
"Note that sigma bond has been referred to as the strongest type of covalent bond because the extent of overlap is maximum in case of orbitals involved in the formation of the sigma bond."
What does it mean for the extent of the overlap to be maximum? Can someone explain what the overlap is please.

[Chem_Mod]

The overlap is between the orbitals which the electrons for bonding are in.

[AshleyLamba1H]

An orbital can be thought of as a cloud of space that holds up to two electrons. A covalent bond results from the overlap between these orbitals.

[fara valdez]

However, what does it mean "for the extent of the overlap to be maximum?" I'm confused too.

[Raquel Floyd 1K]

To my understanding, the statement "for the extent of the overlap to be maximum" means that in these bonds, the overlap is the greatest overlap compared to any other bonds. And because there is so much overlap going on, that is what makes these bonds stronger. I hope by putting it in layman's terms helps!

[Chem_Mod]

Sigma bonds occur in plane with the two atoms that are bonding. This is why the orbitals have the greatest overlap. Pi bonds, on the other hand, occur in the two other planes between the two atoms and thus they are weaker because the orbital overlap is less than that of the sigma bond.