# van der Waals radius

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. The radius of an imaginary hard sphere representing the distance of closest approach from one atom to another.

## Etymology
Named after Johannes Diderik van der Waals, the first to recognise that atoms were not simply points and to demonstrate the physical consequences of their size.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/van-der-waals-radius