Van der Waals force

Definition

Van der Waals forces are weak, short-range electrostatic attractive forces between uncharged molecules, arising from the interaction of permanent or transient dipoles. These forces include attractions between atoms, molecules, and surfaces, as well as other intermolecular forces that do not involve covalent or ionic bonds.

Related terms

Polar covalent bond:

A type of chemical bond where two atoms share a pair of electrons unequally, resulting in a molecule with an electric dipole moment.

Dipole: dipole interaction - An attractive force between the positive end of one polar molecule and the negative end of another polar molecule.

London dispersion forces: A type of van der Waals force that is a weak intermolecular force arising from quantum-induced instantaneous polarization multipoles in molecules