Weak dispersive forces between glass-gold macroscopic surfaces in alcohols

Abstract

In this work we concentrate on an experimental validation of the Lifshitz theory for van der Waals and Casimir forces in gold-alcohol-glass systems. From this theory weak dispersive forces are predicted when the dielectric properties of the intervening medium become comparable to one of the interacting surfaces. Using inverse colloid probe atomic force microscopy dispersive forces were measured occasionally and under controlled conditions by addition of salt to screen the electrostatic double layer force if present. The dispersive force was found to be attractive, and an order of magnitude weaker than that in air. Although the theoretical description of the forces becomes less precise for these systems even with full knowledge of the dielectric properties, we find still our results in reasonable agreement with Lifshitz theory.

19 pages, 7 figures

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• Van der Waals torque induced by external magnetic fields
• Sensitivity and accuracy of Casimir force measurements in air
• Repulsive Casimir forces and the role of surface modes
• Double-layer force suppression between charged microspheres
• Repulsive Casimir force between silicon dioxide and superconductor
• Quantum vacuum photon modes and repulsive Lifshitz-van der Waals interactions
• Characterization of optical properties and surface roughness profiles: The Casimir force between real materials
• Variations of the Lifshitz-van der Waals force between metals immersed in liquids
• Casimir Forces in Multi-Sphere Configurations