What is Force of Attraction Between Two Atoms?

For a long time, the force of attraction between two atoms was considered to be zero. As the science of chemistry and physics grew in the later days, the concept of the attractive force of the two atoms got changed.

Atoms are the building blocks of any chemical and each of them has a positive and negative charge. The electrons of an atom are negatively charged and the positive charges are located in the nucleus.

During chemical bonding when two or more atoms come together they attract each other due to their electrical and magnetic forces. When the atoms come closer the forces between them become stronger and the distance between them is called interatomic distance.

Components of force of attraction between two atoms

The force of attraction between two atoms can be divided into three components. These three components are electric force, magnetic force and Van der Waals force.

1. Electric force

Electrical force is due to the difference in electric potential between the atoms. The electrical force is a repulsive force and when two atoms are separated, they experience an electric force and this force acts towards the centre of mass of the two atoms.

2. Magnetic force

Magnetic force is due to the opposite charges on the atoms. When the atoms are separated then the magnetic force will act between the opposite charges on the atoms and it acts towards the centre of mass of the two atoms.

3. Van der Waals force

It is a non-electrostatic force which is due to the molecules. When the atoms come together then the Van der Waals force will act between the molecules of the two atoms and it acts inwards towards the centre of mass of the two atoms.

The force between the two atoms increases when they come closer, but once they are far apart they don’t have much effect on each other. The magnitude of the force is proportional to the product of the charges of the atom.

The Force of attraction between two atoms is a very weak force, but it still attracts the two atoms towards each other.

In the case of hydrogen and oxygen, they don’t have any charge, so there is no force between them. When the atoms of any element come closer the force will increase exponentially until it reaches a critical value. When the atoms are at this critical distance the force becomes so strong that they will attract each other and form a bond.

The strength of the force varies among the elements. The strongest force is found in the case of Hydrogen and Oxygen, while the weakest force is in the case of Sodium and Magnesium.

In conclusion, the force of attraction between the atoms of two different elements can vary between the strongest and the weakest.