Geckos lizards make use of van der Waals forces to climb flat surfaces such as walls and roofs. The solids that are held together with the help of van der Waals forces have a low boiling point, while the solids held together by covalent, ionic, or metallic bonds tend to have a high boiling point. Van der Waals forces do not get saturated.ħ. These forces do not depend on temperature, except the dipole-dipole interaction.Ħ. Van der Waals forces are not directional in nature.ĥ.

This means that van der Waals forces work well in a short-range.Ĥ. The interaction between molecules increases when the distance between the molecules is less or when they are placed close to each other. These forces are weaker than the covalent, ionic, and hydrogen bonding.ģ. Van der Waals forces are additive in nature and are made up of several individual interactions.Ģ. The strength of van der Waals force typically lies between 0.4 kJ/mole and 4 kJ/mole and they tend to act over a distance less than or equal to 0.4 nm.ġ. The force of attraction exists between atoms or molecules of a substance or two different substances, thereby helping two objects stick to each other. The domino effect existing between the temporary dipoles establishes a force of attraction known as the van der Waals force. The temporary dipole formed in an atom forms another temporary dipole in the neighbouring atom, and the process goes on and on. He observed that the electrons distributed unevenly throughout an atom or molecule tend to move continuously and form a temporary dipole. He discovered these forces in 1873 while working on the characteristics of real gases. Van der Waals force is named after a Dutch scientist Johannes Diderik van der Waals. The bonds formed due to the Van Der Waals interaction are the secondary bonds, while ionic and covalent bonds act as primary bonds. These are the short term attractive forces that exist between uncharged molecules of substances. Van der Waals forces, also known as the van der Waals interactions, are the weak interactions existing at a molecular or atomic level.

Van der waals forces in graphite