I want to evaluate some chemistry related formulas, which I don't understand.
In proteins, hydrogen bonding often occurs between the oxo group = O oxygen of one amino acid and the α-amino group (N − H) of another amino acid. The bond energy is determined by the distance between oxygen and hydrogen and by the angle enclosed by the N-H and H-Bonds.
Let's assume the $E = (\frac{1}{d_{HO}^{10}} - \frac{1}{d_{HO}^{12}}) * cos(\alpha)$ model describes the energy of the hydrogen bond.
What is the meaning of the number 10 and 12 in the formula?
I know the angle and the distances between one O, one H and one N atom (that's all the input we got).
maybe related: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/hydrogen-bond