Construct · 1 fields · 2 citations

Casimir effect: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

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Casimireffect1 CONSTRUCTCasimir forceCASIMIR · VACUUM FORCE

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Physics (quantum field theory)

The attractive force between two neutral conducting plates from vacuum fluctuations

Hendrik Casimir's 1948 paper On the attraction between two perfectly conducting plates predicted that two flat, uncharged, electrically conducting plates held a small distance apart in a vacuum should feel a tiny attractive force pulling them together, with no charges, currents, or fields applied. The force arises because even empty space is filled with the fluctuating electromagnetic field of the quantum vacuum, and the plates restrict which of these vacuum modes can exist in the gap between them, leaving a lower field energy inside than outside, so the plates are pushed together. Steven Lamoreaux's 1997 experiment gave the first precise measurement of this force over separations of 0.6 to 6 micrometres and confirmed the prediction to within a few percent. What makes the Casimir effect a landmark is that it is a directly measurable, macroscopic consequence of zero-point energy, the residual energy the quantum vacuum retains even at absolute zero, and its strength depends only on fundamental constants and the geometry of the plates rather than on any material property or applied field.[1][2]

Unit
A force per unit plate area (pressure), set by the plate separation and the fundamental constants of the quantum vacuum
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Measured directly as the attractive force between closely spaced conducting surfaces, using torsion balances, atomic force microscopes, or micro-electromechanical sensors calibrated against separation

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Nearby constructs

quantum4 fields · 7 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsfield3 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, three constructsabsolute2 fields · 2 citationsjingle · one word, two constructs

References

  1. Casimir, H. B. G. (1948). On the attraction between two perfectly conducting plates. Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, 51, 793–795.
  2. Lamoreaux, S. K. (1997). Demonstration of the Casimir force in the 0.6 to 6 µm range. Physical Review Letters, 78(1), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.5

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