theory of London dispersion forces

E347197

physical theory theory in chemistry theory in physics

The theory of London dispersion forces explains the weak, short-range attractive interactions between all atoms and molecules arising from instantaneous, correlated fluctuations in their electron distributions.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
The Theory of Intermolecular Forces	1
theory of London dispersion forces canonical	1
van der Waals interaction theory	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3306105 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: theory of London dispersion forces
Context triple: [Fritz London, notableWork, theory of London dispersion forces]

A. The Nature of the Chemical Bond
The Nature of the Chemical Bond is a landmark chemistry book by Linus Pauling that systematically explains chemical bonding using quantum mechanics and became one of the most influential scientific texts of the 20th century.
B. Herzberg–Teller approximation
The Herzberg–Teller approximation is a refinement in molecular spectroscopy that accounts for vibronic coupling by allowing electronic transition dipole moments to depend on nuclear coordinates, explaining intensity in otherwise forbidden transitions.
C. Longuet-Higgins theorem in molecular symmetry
The Longuet-Higgins theorem in molecular symmetry is a fundamental result in theoretical chemistry that relates molecular symmetry properties to electronic state degeneracies and the occurrence of phenomena such as the Jahn–Teller effect.
D. Franck–Condon principle
The Franck–Condon principle is a rule in molecular spectroscopy that explains the intensity distribution of vibronic transitions by assuming electronic transitions occur much faster than nuclear motion, making vertical transitions between vibrational states most probable.
E. Mulliken electronegativity scale
The Mulliken electronegativity scale is a quantitative measure of an atom’s tendency to attract electrons, defined as the average of its ionization energy and electron affinity.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: theory of London dispersion forces
Target entity description: The theory of London dispersion forces explains the weak, short-range attractive interactions between all atoms and molecules arising from instantaneous, correlated fluctuations in their electron distributions.

A. The Nature of the Chemical Bond
The Nature of the Chemical Bond is a landmark chemistry book by Linus Pauling that systematically explains chemical bonding using quantum mechanics and became one of the most influential scientific texts of the 20th century.
B. Herzberg–Teller approximation
The Herzberg–Teller approximation is a refinement in molecular spectroscopy that accounts for vibronic coupling by allowing electronic transition dipole moments to depend on nuclear coordinates, explaining intensity in otherwise forbidden transitions.
C. Longuet-Higgins theorem in molecular symmetry
The Longuet-Higgins theorem in molecular symmetry is a fundamental result in theoretical chemistry that relates molecular symmetry properties to electronic state degeneracies and the occurrence of phenomena such as the Jahn–Teller effect.
D. Franck–Condon principle
The Franck–Condon principle is a rule in molecular spectroscopy that explains the intensity distribution of vibronic transitions by assuming electronic transitions occur much faster than nuclear motion, making vertical transitions between vibrational states most probable.
E. Mulliken electronegativity scale
The Mulliken electronegativity scale is a quantitative measure of an atom’s tendency to attract electrons, defined as the average of its ionization energy and electron affinity.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (45)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	physical theory ⓘ theory in chemistry ⓘ theory in physics ⓘ
appliesTo	all atoms ⓘ all molecules ⓘ
basedOn	correlated fluctuations in electron distributions ⓘ instantaneous fluctuations in electron density ⓘ
characterizes	forces that are always attractive at long range for neutral species ⓘ forces that decay rapidly with distance ⓘ
clarifies	that dispersion forces act between all pairs of atoms and molecules ⓘ that dispersion forces exist even in absence of permanent charge or dipole ⓘ
componentOf	total intermolecular interaction energy ⓘ van der Waals forces ⓘ linked to: London dispersion forces
describes	London dispersion forces ⓘ
developedUsing	quantum perturbation theory ⓘ
distinguishedFrom	dipole–induced dipole interactions ⓘ electrostatic interactions between permanent multipoles ⓘ hydrogen bonding ⓘ permanent dipole–dipole interactions ⓘ
explains	attraction between nonpolar molecules ⓘ existence of condensed phases of noble gases ⓘ part of the origin of boiling points of nonpolar substances ⓘ part of the origin of melting points of nonpolar substances ⓘ residual attraction between noble gas atoms ⓘ short-range attractive interactions between atoms and molecules ⓘ weak intermolecular attractions ⓘ
historicallyAttributedTo	Fritz London ⓘ
partOf	van der Waals interaction theory ⓘ linked to: theory of London dispersion forces
predicts	dispersion energy scales with inverse sixth power of distance ⓘ stronger dispersion forces for more polarizable species ⓘ
relatedTo	Casimir–Polder interaction at larger separations ⓘ Lennard-Jones potential modeling of intermolecular forces ⓘ London equation for dispersion energy ⓘ induced dipole–induced dipole interactions ⓘ quantum mechanical description of intermolecular forces ⓘ
usedIn	biomolecular structure and stability analysis ⓘ computational chemistry models of noncovalent interactions ⓘ explanations of trends in physical properties of homologous series ⓘ materials science of molecular crystals ⓘ molecular simulation force fields ⓘ surface science and adsorption studies ⓘ
usesConcept	electron correlation ⓘ induced dipole moments ⓘ instantaneous dipole moments ⓘ polarizability of atoms and molecules ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Fritz London → notableWork → theory of London dispersion forces ⓘ

Fritz London → hasWork → The Theory of Intermolecular Forces ⓘ

subject linked to: Fritz

linked to: theory of London dispersion forces

theory of London dispersion forces → partOf → van der Waals interaction theory ⓘ