How do ionic bonds hold sodium chloride crystals together?

Sodium chloride crystals are held together by the strong electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged sodium cations ($N{a}^{+}$) and chlorine anions ($C{l}^{-}$).12

This structure forms when valence electrons are transferred from sodium to chlorine, creating ions that arrange themselves into a stable, alternating crystalline lattice. In this arrangement, every cation is surrounded by anions and vice versa, maximizing the attractive forces between opposite charges while minimizing repulsions between similar charges.123

The stability of the crystal is defined by its lattice energy, which represents the large quantity of energy released when these ions come together to form the solid structure. This energy is so significant that it compensates for the initial energy required to ionize the atoms, resulting in a highly stable, hard, and nonvolatile solid.342