van der Waals force

van der Waals +‎ force From Dutch van der Waals. from Johannes Diderik van der Waals, who first described them.

van der Waals force (plural van der Waals forces)

1. (chemistry, often in the plural) The relatively weak attraction between neutral atoms and molecules arising from polarization induced in each particle by the presence of other particles.

• intermolecular force

• van der Waals strain