Argon is a mono-atomic molecule. If this is true, how does the argon molecule create van der Waals force?
Jenkin writes Clearly, there must be intermolecular forces between argon molecules, and indeed between molecules of all the noble gases, because if sufficiently cooled they become liquids. Even helium liquefies, although only at a temperature of 4K (-269 C), but liquid helium is of great importance in a variety of areas of scientific research and scientific instrumentation. An argon atom has 18 electrons around its nucleus. At any instant, these electrons will probably not be symmetrically distributed around the nucleus: more will be on one side of the atom than another. Consequently, one side of the atom, the one with a greater share of the electrons, will be slightly negative (-) and the other side slightly positive (+). This polarity will induce polarisation in a neighbouring atom. The negative side of one atom will be attracted to the positive side of another; this intermolecular attraction is the van der Waals force. Since the electrons are in constant motion, the force of attract
