Are repulsive Van der Waals forces as common as attractive ones?

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SUMMARY

Van der Waals forces, which arise from temporary dipoles in molecules, play a crucial role in molecular interactions. The discussion highlights that while attractive forces are common due to the alignment of oppositely charged dipoles, repulsive forces occur when similarly charged dipole ends align. However, the attractive interactions are more prevalent because the induced dipoles consistently favor attraction, akin to a magnet attracting iron. This imbalance in the frequency and strength of attractive versus repulsive forces is a fundamental aspect of molecular behavior.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Van der Waals forces
  • Knowledge of molecular dipoles
  • Familiarity with intermolecular interactions
  • Basic principles of magnetism
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  • Research the role of Van der Waals forces in different states of matter
  • Explore the concept of induced dipoles in molecular chemistry
  • Study the effects of temperature on molecular interactions
  • Examine the comparison between Van der Waals forces and other intermolecular forces
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Chemists, materials scientists, and anyone interested in molecular interactions and the principles governing attraction and repulsion at the molecular level.

24forChromium
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I may be as wrong as an alchemist, but according to what I know, many substance stay together because of vander vaal's forces (I forgot how it's spelt) which is essentially the temporary dipoles that form around molecules, some times, the dipoles line up such that two neighbouring molecules have oppositely charged ends pointing at one another, causing attraction. My question is, why don't the same effect be just as strong and frequent in the cases where the similarly charged dipole ends point together and cause repulsion, pushing the substance apart on the molecular scale?
 
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The dipoles induce each other - and this is always in an attractive way. It's similar to a magnet attracting a nonmagnetic piece of iron. The field leads to the correct orientation for attraction.
 
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