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In molecular physics, the van der Waals force, named after Dutch scientist Johannes
Diderik van der Waals, is a distance-dependent interaction between atoms or
molecules. Unlike ionic or covalent bonds, these attractions do not result from a
chemical electronic bond; they are comparatively weak and therefore more
susceptible to disturbance. The van der Waals force quickly vanishes at longer
distances between interacting molecules.
Van der Waals force plays a fundamental role in fields as diverse as supramolecular
chemistry, structural biology, polymer science, nanotechnology, surface science,
and condensed matter physics. It also underlies many properties of organic
compounds and molecular solids, including their solubility in polar and non-polar
media.
If no other force is present, the distance between atoms at which the force becomes
repulsive rather than attractive as the atoms approach one another is called the
van der Waals contact distance; this phenomenon results from the mutual repulsion
between the atoms' electron clouds.[1] The van der Waals force has the same origin
as the Casimir effect, arising from quantum interactions with the zero-point field.
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