van der Waals' forces

American  

Or van der Waals forces

plural noun

Physical Chemistry.

1. weak, nonspecific forces between molecules.

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van der Waals forces British  

plural noun

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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Etymology

Origin of van der Waals' forces

First recorded in 1925–30; van der Waals' equation