LONG RANGE FORCES BETWEEN HYDROGEN MOLECULES

Abstract

Long range forces between two hydrogen molecules are calculated by using methods developed by Massey and Buckingham. Several terms omitted by them and a corrected numerical factor greatly change results for the van der Waals energy but do not affect their results for the static quadrupole–quadrupole energy. By using seven approximate ground state H₂ wave functions information is obtained regarding the dependence of the van der Waals energy on the choice of wave function. The value of this energy averaged over all orientations of the molecular axes is found to be approximately −11.0 R⁻⁶ atomic units, a result in close agreement with semiempirical values.