Question

How are the magnitude of repulsion and the distance separating the molecules related?

Answer 1

The magnitude of repulsion and the distance separating the molecules relation:

• Repulsion is defined as the force which exists between two similar or like entities.
• When two molecules are brought close near to each other, there exists the force of repulsion between the electron clouds and that between the nuclei of two molecules.
• The magnitude of the repulsion is inversely related to the distance separating the molecules as the former increases very rapidly as the distance parting the molecules decreases.
• This is the reason why compression of solid and liquid is a hard process to obtain. As in these states, molecules already exist in close contact with each other.
• Hence, any further compression becomes difficult to proceed, as that would result in the increase of repulsive force of interactions between the molecules.
• The figure showing the relation between the magnitude of repulsion and the distance separating the molecules can be shown as;

Hence, the magnitude of repulsion and the distance separating the molecules are inversly related to each other as the decrease in distance increases the magnitude of repulsion between the molecules.