Chemistry / Unit 8 Chem 1370 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Dispersion Forces
Captions available
The idea
A dispersion force is a weak, temporary attraction from momentary, fluctuating electron distributions that induce a matching dipole in a neighbor.
In practice
Fluorine and chlorine stay gases at room temperature, but bromine is liquid and iodine solid, as dispersion forces strengthen with size.
Where people slip
Dispersion forces exist between every pair of atoms or molecules — the one IMF no condensed phase ever lacks.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Chemistry