Includes bibliographical references (p. 407-430) and index.

Lifshitz-van der Waals (LW) interactions -- Relation between the Hamaker constant and the apolar surface tension component -- Polar or Lewis acid-base interactions -- Electrical double layer interactions -- Brownian movement forces : osmotic interactions of polymers -- Rate of decay with distance -- Lifshitz-van der Waals and Lewis acid-base properties of liquid water : physical and physico-chemical effects -- Role of water in hydrophobic attraction -- Role of water in hydrophilic repulsion -- The water-air interface -- Contact angle and surface tension determination and preparation of solid surfaces -- Interfacial tension determination : influence of macroscopic- and microscopic-scale interactions -- Different approaches for interpreting contact angles and determining the surface tension and surface tension components of solids -- Electrokinetic methods -- Direct measurement methods, treating the force balance in particular -- Surface tension components and parameters of liquids and solids -- Attractice LW- and AB-forces : hydrophobic interactions -- Repulsive AB-forces : hydrophilic interactions : osmotic pressures of PEO solutions -- The primary and secondary interactions -- Phase separation in polymer solutions, coacervation and complex coacervation -- Solubility of polymers and other solutes -- Cell and particle stability -- Adsorption and adhesion in aqueous media, including ligand-receptor interactions -- Kinetics and energetics of protein adsorption onto metal oxide surfaces.