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Application of the Lifshitz Theory to the Calculation of Van der Waals Forces across Thin Lipid Films

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Abstract

THEORIES of colloids1, biological cell interaction2 and thin film stability require an understanding of the role of Van der Waals dispersion forces. Calculating these attractive forces in condensed media has so far been a problem, but we now report a simple method which makes it possible to predict attractive energies and to investigate the forces in biological processes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Sciences Laboratory, Division of Computer Research and Technology, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Bethesda, Maryland, 20014

    V. A. PARSEGIAN & B. W. NINHAM

  2. Department of Applied Mathematics, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia, 2033

    B. W. NINHAM

Authors
  1. V. A. PARSEGIAN
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  2. B. W. NINHAM
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PARSEGIAN, V., NINHAM, B. Application of the Lifshitz Theory to the Calculation of Van der Waals Forces across Thin Lipid Films. Nature 224, 1197–1198 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/2241197a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2241197a0

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