Abstract: In 1927, Dr. Shou-Chin Wang published an article in Physikalische Zeitschrift, where he, for the first time, used quantum mechanical methods to derive the long-range attractive potential proportional to -1/R6 between two distant atoms. This work reveals the mechanism of van der Waals interaction arising from the instantaneous electric dipole moment fluctuations. A subsequent systematic study was completed by F. London three years later, who also cited Wang′s work. This research represents a significant early application of quantum mechanics. However, it has long been overlooked in literature, primarily due to the difficulty in accessing the original German text and the lack of an English translation. This article presents a Chinese translation based on a recent English version of the work. On the occasion of the centenary of the establishment of quantum mechanics, we re-examine this underestimated contribution and pay tribute to pioneering Chinese physicists like Dr. Shou-Chin Wang.

Key words: quantum mechanics, quantum chemistry, history of physics