Van der Waals bonding, also known as London force, instantaneous dipole effect, and induced dipole interaction, is an intermolecular force or interatomic force that causes an attraction between temporarily induced dipoles in nonpolar molecules and atoms. Van der Waals bonding is much weaker than both ionic and covalent bonding, and usually weaker than hydrogen bonds. Van der Waals bonding is the sole process by which noble gases are attracted to each other, and the dominant form of interaction between electrically neutral species with all of their bonds saturated. Intermolecular forces are electromagnetic forces which act between molecules or between widely separated regions of a macromolecule. ... A dipole (Greek: dyo = two and polos = pivot) is a pair of electric charges or magnetic poles of equal magnitude but opposite polarity (opposite electronic charges), separated by some (usually small) distance. ... In chemistry, a nonpolar compound is one that does not have concentrations of positive or negative electric charge. ... A molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its chemical composition and properties. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... An ion is an atom or group of atoms with a net electric charge. ... Covalently bonded hydrogen and carbon in a molecule of methane. ... Hydrogen bonds between water molecules are diagramatically represented by the black lines. ... The noble gases are the chemical elements in group 18 (old-style Group 0) of the periodic table. ... In general, Attraction is a force, that moves one object to another. ...

Bonding by van der Waals forces occurs through induced dipole interactions. By contrast to dipolar molecules, which possess a small static dipole due to electronegativity differences between covalently bonded atoms, dipole oscillations are observed in all atoms and molecules. Electronegativity is the measure of the ability of an atom or molecule to attract electrons in the context of a chemical bond. ... OSCILLATION IS THROUGH AND FRO MOTION OF ELECTRONS IN DEVICE Oscillation is the periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure as seen, for example, in a swinging pendulum. ...

These oscillations create a dipole field that varies regularly in time, so that a nearby observer would see a positive charge at one moment, and a negative charge at the next. When two bodies have the same (or a similar) oscillation frequency, the positive charge on one body is able to synchronize with the negative charge on the next, so that electrostatic attraction occurs even though both bodies have an average charge of zero. In this way, even neutral atoms or molecules with satisfied orbitals can be bonded to one another. It is this bonding that constitutes van der Waals bonding.

Among the weakest bonds of this type are those which hold liquid helium together. Even very small amounts of energy are enough to break these bonds, which causes helium to boil at a very low temperature (4.22 kelvins or −268.93 degrees Celsius). The tiny amount of energy absorbed makes helium an extremely inefficient coolant. Fundamentally, this weak bonding is due to the tiny amount of charge present in helium (two electrons, two protons) and the stiffness with which the electron shell is held in place. These two effects combine to prevent any strong dipole oscillations. General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ... The kelvin (symbol: K) is the SI unit of temperature, and is one of the seven SI base units. ... The degree Celsius (°C or ℃ (Unicode 0x2103)) is a unit of temperature named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who first proposed a similar system in 1742. ...

By contrast, benzene and related aromatic compounds form relatively strong van der Waals bonds between the flat surfaces of their rings (aromatic stacking interaction). The reason is a large and relatively dense electron cloud situated away from the plane of bonding. This makes it both more polarizable and more accessible to nearby phenyl groups. Benzene, also known as C6H6, PhH, and benzol, is an organic chemical compound which is a colorless and flammable liquid with a pleasant, sweet smell. ... The term aromatic compound may also refer to: any organic compound possessing a strong olfactory aroma aromatic hydrocarbons (originally named as a subset of the above; however, aromatic hydrocarbons do not necessarily possess any smell whatsoever) ... Aromatic stacking interaction, sometimes called phenyl stacking, is a phenomenon in organic chemistry that affects aromatic compounds and functional groups. ...

In plastics without strong dipoles, van der Waals bonding is what holds adjacent polymer chains together into a coherent material. Compared to the covalent bonds which form the backbone of a polymer, van der Waals bonds are generally much less directional and universally more likely to re-form when broken. This gives polymers their ductility and toughness. This can be understood by analogy with fibre reinforced plastics, with covalent bonds in the role of fibers and van der Waals bonds corresponding to the matrix. Plastic bottles for recycling Plastic is a term that covers a range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products. ... Toughness, in material science and metallurgy, is the resistance to fracture of a material when suddenly stressed. ... Fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) is a composite material comprising a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres usually of glass, carbon, or aramid and is commonly used in aerospace, automotive and marine industries. ... Fiber (American English) or fibre (Commonwealth English) is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to pieces of thread. ... Look up Matrix on Wiktionary, the free dictionary // Matrix can refer to: The sciences Extracellular matrix, any material part of a tissue that is not part of any cell. ...

Related Topics

• Van der Waals forces
• Casimir effect
• Van der Waals equation
• Van der Waals radius
• Johannes Diderik van der Waals