van der Waals forces

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van der Waals forces

pl n
(General Physics) weak electrostatic forces between atoms and molecules caused by transient distortions in the distribution of electrons in the interacting atoms or molecules
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

van′ der Waals'` forc`es

(ˈvæn dər ˌwɑlz, ˌwɑls)
n.pl.
weakly attractive forces that act between neutral atoms or molecules.
[1925–30; after J. Dutch. van der Waals (1837–1923), Dutch physicist]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
The nanotubes are held together by strongly attractive van der Waals forces, which gives the material mechanical properties far better than those of copper.
Van der Waals forces result from the fact that the electrons that orbit the nuclei of atoms aren't evenly spaced.
Van der Waals forces are the consequence of intermolecular polarities, due to the structure of a single molecule, may reveal Van der Waals forces that are the improved result of a few various types of polar contributions.
The innovative Gecko Gripper, developed by Perception Robotics, was inspired by nature and uses the same adhesive system for gripping as the feet of a gecko, with millions of fine fibers that adhere to the surface of the workpiece and generate strong van der Waals forces. For the Gecko Gripper technology, OnRobot licenses a concept originally developed by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and brought it to market maturity.
The figure also shows the difference between the two models indicating that the inclusion of hydrodynamic and attractive van der Waals forces (Eq.
These processes included the liquid-solid interfacial surface tensions, the van der Waals forces between the melted tin ball and the welding tip, the gravity acting on the tin ball, and finally the heat dissipation and cooling of the melted tin ball.
The intermolecular attraction of the liquid molecules to the solid surface occurs over a very short range, around 5 nm, and is known as van der Waals forces. The macroscopic manifestation of van der Waals forces is known as disjoining pressure.
The TE model introduces the dimensionless numbers which consider the van der Waals forces of attraction in the interaction with particle thermal energy--the van der Waals Number (NvdW)--and the relation between the van der Waals forces of attraction and the fluid velocity in the interception of particle collision--Attraction Number ([N.sub.A]) (see Table 1).
The researchers conclude that changes in the properties of alkylated-pi molecules depend upon the precise balance of the interactions among the pi-conjugated units as well as static interactions (known as van der Waals forces) among the alkyl chains.
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