Biochemistry - The Chemical Reactions of Living Cells, Volume 1 - D. Metzler 1980

The molecules of which we are made
Principles of small molecule architecture
Contact distances

Covalent Bond Lengths and Bond Angles tell us about the relative arrangement of atomic nuclei, but they give no insight into the outer contours of molecules. The distance from the center of an atom to the point where it "contacts" a neighboring atom in close packing (such as in a crystal) is called the Structure/103.html">Van der Waals radius. The relative arrangement of adjacent biological molecules is largely determined by these radii, which are also listed in Table 2-1. In each case, they are approximately equal to the covalent radius plus 0.080 nm. Van der Waals radii are somewhat less constant than covalent radii because atoms can be compressed slightly, provided that the contact distance is reduced by no more than 0.005–0.01 nm.



Last update: 06/08/2026

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