Van der Waals force[1] is sort of midway between chemical and mechanical interaction. We think of proteins as crystals because that’s how we can image them, but

Van der Waals force[1] is sort of midway between chemical and mechanical interaction. We think of proteins as crystals because that’s how we can image them, but really they’re sort of floppy things that can often change their shape dynamically in response to forces and then exert different forces because of that. This leads to all kinds of interesting feedback loops. The polarity of the water molecules they’re floating around in plays a role too. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_force https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_force