“Molecular mechanics”-large-scale computer modeling of molecular structure and function-has become one of the most rapidly expanding activities in chemistry and biology. As increasing numbers of scientists turn to these semiempirical computer codes in order to design new drugs, catalysts, artificial enzymes, etc., our incomplete knowledge of the. “weak interactions” of chemistry-van der Waals f...

Random first-order transition theory is used to determine the role of attractive and repulsive interactions in the dynamics of supercooled liquids. Self-consistent phonon theory, an approximate mean field treatment consistent with random first-order transition theory, is used to treat individual glassy configurations, whereas the liquid phase is treated using common liquid-state approximations....

The authors provide a review and literature survey of many-body effects in intermolecular forces. Topics include experimental methods, theoretical methods, many-body effects in atomic systems, and many-body effects in aqueous and nonaqueous molecular systems.