Van der Waals forces
The physical forces of attraction and repulsion
existing between molecules and which are
responsible for the cohesion of molecular crystals
and liquids. The forces stem partly from
dipole-dipole, or dipole-induced-dipole
interactions; however, even nonpolar molecules and
atoms exert a certain attraction on one another.
Van der Waals forces act only over relatively
short distances, and are proportional to the
inverse of the seventh power of the intermolecular
distances. The forces are important in the
mechanics of ADHESION . (235 )
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