Van der Waals [ENDORSED]

[paulacamara1E]

Does it matter which name we use for Van der Waals? Like London, Dispersion, Induced dipole etc? And are they considered bonds or simply interactions?

[JulietOttenberg-1C]

no I don't think it matters.

[105012653 1F]

They are the same; you should be able to use all names.

[Alexandra Wade 1L]

Van der Waals is an interaction because it is just the partial separation of charge. On its own it is very weak, but with a lot of individual interactions between molecules it can be very strong which is why it is sometimes confused for a bond.

[KristinaNguyen_1A]

They are all interchangeable so I don't think it really matters. They are also considered interactions and not bonds because it will continuously interact and then break apart due to its weak interactions.