Observation of the Thermal Casimir Force is Open to Question

Abstract

We discuss theoretical predictions for the thermal Casimir force and compare them with available experimental data. Special attention is paid to the recent claim of the observation of that effect, as predicted by the Drude model approach. We show that this claim is in contradiction with a number of experiments reported so far. We suggest that the experimental errors, as reported in support of the observation of the thermal Casimir force, are significantly underestimated. Furthermore, the experimental data at separations above $3\mu$m are shown to be in agreement not with the Drude model approach, as is claimed, but with the plasma model. The seeming agreement of the data with the Drude model at separations below $3\mu$m is explained by the use of an inadequate formulation of the proximity force approximation.

12 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A

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• Measurement of the Temperature Dependence of the Casimir-Polder Force
• Novel constraints on light elementary particles and extra-dimensional physics from the Casimir effect
• Control of the Casimir force by the modification of dielectric properties with light
• Demonstration of optically modulated dispersion forces
• Limits on Nonstandard Forces in the Submicrometer Range
• Conductivity of dielectric and thermal atom-wall interaction
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Cited by in corpus (2)

• Comparison between experiment and theory for the thermal Casimir force
• New constraints on Yukawa-type interactions from the Casimir effect