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van der Waals force

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van der Waals force

(văn′ dər wôlz′, wälz′)
n.
A weak attractive force between atoms or nonpolar molecules caused by an instantaneous dipole moment of one atom or molecule that induces a similar temporary dipole moment in adjacent atoms or molecules.
The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
Elastic moduli of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and the effect of van der Waals forces. Composites Sci.
Neighboring particles are attracted into contact by the van der Waals force between them, much of which originates in their surface zones.
The total force of the system, including the electrostatic force and van der Waals force, is given by:
According to the researchers, the change in van der Waals force was calculated due to the relative transverse movement of the two nanotubes in the presented model, and its effect on the movement of nanostructures containing perpendicular nanotubes was investigated.
According to Li, the force that holds the two nanoribbons together is a weak electrostatic attraction called the van der Waals force. (This is the same force that allows the gecko to walk up walls.)
Washington, Jan 26 (ANI): Inspired by how a gecko sticks to the smoothest of surfaces via strong van der Waals force between its millions of hairs, researchers at Rice University have come up with a way to transfer forests of strongly aligned, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) from one surface to any other surface in a matter of minutes.
The hairs cling to surfaces using molecular interactions known as the Van der Waals force. The force helps support the gecko's weight as it scrambles up vertical surfaces.
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