Strength of the hydrophobic interaction
The hydrophobic force does not exist. It is a phenomena resulting from the following considerations.
In principle, liquids should be like gases, perfectly miscible in all proportions. This is the case for non polar molecules, like hydrocarbons. This is not the case for liquids where molecules are hold together by hydrogen bonds, like water. In these liquids, adding solutes requires to break hydrogen bonds. It is acceptable if the solute is able to form new hydrogen bonds, like with small alcohols, polyols and sugars. But if mixing with another substance will break too many H-bonds, Nature refuses to make up this mixture, as if there was a hydrophobic force. Of course, this force does not exist. It is simply a consequence that mixing very different substances would cost too much energy for breaking all H-bonds of one liquid, without forming back new ones.