This definitive work explains van der Waals forces, how to calculate them, and take account of their impact under any circumstances and conditions. These weak intermolecular forces are of truly pervasive impact, and biologists, chemists, physicists and engineers will profit greatly from the thorough grounding in these fundamental forces that this book provides. It is organized at three progressively sophisticated levels to satisfy the requirements of readers at all levels of preparation. The Prelude and Introduction sections offer a general overview of van der Waals forces; the Practice section gives the formulas and a range of algorithms, allowing readers to compute van der Waals forces under a myriad of conditions; the Foundations section lays out a mathematically rigorous formulation of the theory.

From the Preface: “...[T]his book is an experiment in what another friend called `quantum electrodynamics for the people.' First the main ideas and the general picture (Level 1); after that, practice (Level 2); then, finally, the bedrock science (Level 3), culled and rephrased from abstruse sources. This is a strategy intended to defeat the fear that stops many who need to use the theory of van der Walls forces from taking advantage of progress over the past 50 or 60 years. Many excellent physically sophisticated texts already exist, but they remain inaccessible to too many potential users. Many popular texts simplify beyond all justification and thus deprive their readers of an exciting peek into the universe...”

Target Audience: Any individual — from lay reader to seasoned PhD — who needs an authoritative and readable reference on van der Waals forces.

Table of Contents:

Prelude:

The Dance of the Charges

How Do We Convert Absorption Spectra to Charge-Fluctuation Forces?

How Good Are Measurements? Do They Really Confirm Theory?

What Can I Expect to Get from This Book?

Introduction:

The Simplest Case: Material A vs. Material B Across Medium M

The van der Waals Interaction Spectrum

Layered Planar Bodies

Spherical Geometries

Cylindrical Geometries

Practice:

Notation and Symbols

Tables of Formulae

Essays on Formulae

Computation

Foundations:

Story, Stance, Strategy

Notation Used in Level 3 Derivations

A Heuristic Derivation of Lifshitz's General Results for the Interaction Between Two Semi-Infinite Media Across a Planar Gap

Derivatoin of van der Waals Interaction in Layered Planar Systems

Inhomogeneous Media

Ionic-Charge Fluctuations

Anisotropic Media

Problem Sets

Notes

Index