Facets of van der Waals Radii That Are Not Commonly Included in Undergraduate Textbooks

Several important aspects of van der Waals radii are not commonly included in undergraduate textbooks: anisotropy; physical phase-dependence; dependence on other atoms in a molecule, especially directly bonded atoms; and influence over detailed molecular structure and molecular stability, through intramolecular interactions. A brief discussion of these aspects may be appropriate for lecture material in an upper-level course.