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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