Abstract
A new theory describing the interaction between atoms and a conductor with small densities of current carriers is presented. The theory takes into account the penetration of the static component of the thermally fluctuating field in the conductor and generalizes the Lifshitz theory in the presence of a spatial dispersion. The equation obtained for the force describes the continuous crossover between the Lifshitz results for dielectrics and metals.
- Received 7 September 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.163202
©2008 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Casimir effects ⎯ in the real world
Published 27 October 2008
When two bulk objects are separated by a sufficiently small distance, quantum fluctuations in the electromagnetic field give rise to Casimir forces between them. Two papers explore how these forces are affected by the electrical properties of the materials.
See more in Physics