Interaction between argon atoms

Abstract

The interaction energy between argon atoms is correlated with the following experimental properties of argon: (1) the temperature dependence of the entropy of the crystal, (2) the temperature dependence of the energy of the crystal, (3) the temperature dependence of the density of the crystal, (4) the pressure dependence of the density of the crystal, (5) the temperature dependence of the second virial coefficient of the gas, (6) the viscosity at high temperatures of the gas. The interaction energy which best accords with all these properties is strikingly different from the commonly advocated difference between an inverse twelfth power and an inverse sixth power of the distance.