van der Waals' forces

or van der Waals forces


plural nounPhysical Chemistry.
  1. weak, nonspecific forces between molecules.

Origin of van der Waals' forces

1
First recorded in 1925–30; see origin at van der Waals' equation

Words Nearby van der Waals' forces

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British Dictionary definitions for van der Waals forces

van der Waals forces

pl n
  1. weak electrostatic forces between atoms and molecules caused by transient distortions in the distribution of electrons in the interacting atoms or molecules

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