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• van der Waals' forces
  van der Waals' forces

  plural noun

  weak, nonspecific forces between molecules.
• van der Waals forces
  van der Waals forces

  plural noun

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

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; see origin at van der Waals' equation

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

van der Waals forces

Van der Waals materials are made up of strongly bonded 2D layers that are bound in the third dimension through weaker van der Waals forces.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2024

They are only bound to the surface by so-called van der Waals forces.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024

Intermolecular attractive forces, collectively referred to as van der Waals forces, are responsible for the behavior of liquids and solids and are electrostatic in nature.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

All of the attractive forces between neutral atoms and molecules are known as van der Waals forces, although they are usually referred to more informally as intermolecular attraction.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

Another factor is the van der Waals forces that form between the closely interacting pairs of β-sheets.

From Nature ● Nov. 8, 2016

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