Opposites Attract: A Theorem about the Casimir Force

Oded Kenneth and Israel Klich
Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 160401 – Published 18 October 2006

Abstract

We consider the Casimir interaction between (nonmagnetic) dielectric bodies or conductors. Our main result is a proof that the Casimir force between two bodies related by reflection is always attractive, independent of the exact form of the bodies or dielectric properties. Apart from being a fundamental property of fields, the theorem and its corollaries also rule out a class of suggestions to obtain repulsive forces, such as the two hemisphere repulsion suggestion and its relatives.

  • Figure
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  • Received 10 January 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.160401

©2006 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Oded Kenneth1 and Israel Klich2,*

  • 1Department of Physics, Technion, Haifa 32000 Israel
  • 2Department of Physics, California Institute of Technology, MC 114-36 Pasadena, California 91125, USA

  • *Electronic address: klich@caltech.edu

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Issue

Vol. 97, Iss. 16 — 20 October 2006

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