Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A surname of Dutch origin, most famously associated with the physicist Johannes Diderik van der Waals: It refers specifically to the individual who made significant contributions to molecular physics and thermodynamics.

Usage

• The term "van der Waals" is primarily used in scientific contexts to refer to the physicist himself or to the physical concepts and equations named after him.
• It is always capitalized as it is a proper noun.

Examples

• Proper noun:
  • Van der Waals received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1910 for his work on the equation of state for gases and liquids.
  • The life and research of van der Waals are studied in the history of science.

Advanced Usage

• While "van der Waals" itself is a name, it forms the root for several key scientific terms. These are considered distinct compound terms:
  • "van der Waals forces": The weak, short-range attractive forces between molecules or parts of the same molecule.
  • "van der Waals equation": An equation of state that modifies the ideal gas law to account for the volume of molecules and the attractive forces between them.
  • "van der Waals radius": A measure of the size of an atom, defined as half the distance between two non-bonded atoms in their closest possible approach.

Variants and Related Words

• Van der Waalsian (adj): Pertaining to or characteristic of the work or theories of van der Waals.
  • The van der Waalsian model provides a more accurate description of real gas behavior.

Synonyms

• There are no direct synonyms for the proper noun "van der Waals" as it is a specific surname.

Related Phrases

• As a proper noun, it does not form phrasal verbs. The related scientific terms (e.g., van der Waals forces) are fixed noun phrases.

Related Idioms

• There are no idioms based directly on the proper noun "van der Waals."

Noun

1. Dutch physicist (1837-1923)