The physical origin of the "hydrophobic" interaction remains elusive. We shall discuss two very different scenarios: (1) a sub nano-model for interruption of the aqueous hydrogen bonding network that provides a possible mechanism for the insolubility of hydrocarbons in water; (2) an electrostatic view of the "long range" hydrophobic force observed in surface force measurements that derives from the nano-scale reorganization of mobile cationic surfactants.
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