Dynamic corrections to Van der Waals potentials

Abstract

A discussion is given of the velocity-dependent forces which arise when two Van der Waals coupled systems move slowly relative to each other. Explicit calculations both for the cases of a molecule interacting with a metal and for two metals interacting with each other indicate that these forces are very small and may safely be neglected in analysing the results of dynamic experiments designed to measure the static Van der Waals force. A result due to Teodorovich (1978) for the case of two metal films in parallel motion is shown to be incorrect.