I mean, they are not the same thing but still fall under the category of intermolecular forces. And the commenter is correct that Van Der Waals forces are caused by the fluctuating polarizations of particles at a particular distance, which is understood via quantum dynamics.
xykerii t1_j51so7t wrote
Reply to comment by doaardvarksswim in How is protein folding quantum mechanical? by prionprion
I mean, they are not the same thing but still fall under the category of intermolecular forces. And the commenter is correct that Van Der Waals forces are caused by the fluctuating polarizations of particles at a particular distance, which is understood via quantum dynamics.