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what is London force?

London dispersion forces are the weakest of all the different inter-molecular forces. They are caused by the random motion of electrons as atoms and molecules move around each other. At any given moment, electron density within an atom may be uneven, resulting in a very slight difference in charge across the length of that atom or molecule. That slight difference affects how that atom or molecule interacts with another one. Dispersion forces increase with the size of the atom, and that trend is most evident in the halogen group. It explains why, under normal conditions, fluorine and chlorine are gases, bromine is a liquid, and iodine is a solid.


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