On the problem of van der Waals forces in dielectric media

Abstract

A short review of the problems which arise in the generalization of the Lifshitz theory of van der Waals force in the case of forces inside dielectric media is presented, together with some historical remarks. General properties of the stress tensor of equilibrium electromagnetic field in media are discussed, and the importance of the conditions of mechanical equilibrium is stressed. The physical meaning of the repulsive van der Waals interaction between bodies immersed in a liquid is discussed.

10 pages, 2 figures. To be published in "Casimir Physics", Lecture Notes in Physics Series, Springer

References in corpus (4)

• Radiative heat transfer between nanostructures
• Thermal Lifshitz Force between Atom and Conductor with Small Density of Carriers
• Why and when the Minkowski's stress tensor can be used in the problem of Casimir force acting on bodies embedded in media
• Lifshitz theory of van der Waals pressure in dissipative media