Van-der-Waals forces

Purely physical adhesive forces between molecules and atoms without any chemical bond. They act only in the near field and are considerably weaker than chemical binding forces. Van-der-Waals forces are forces of attraction between 

• dipoles
• one dipole and one polarisable molecule which is polarised by the effect of the dipole
• two polarisable molecules which polarise each other

Named after the Dutch physicist Johann Diderik van der Waals (1837 - 1923).