Observation of the skin-depth effect on the Casimir force between metallic surfaces

Abstract

We have performed comparative measurements of the Casimir force between a metallic plate and a transparent sphere coated with metallic films of different thicknesses. We have observed that, if the thickness of the coating is less than the skin-depth of the electromagnetic modes that mostly contribute to the interaction, the force is significantly smaller than that measured with a thick bulk-like film. Our results provide the first direct evidence of the skin-depth effect on the Casimir force between metallic surfaces.

submitted for publication on Dec. 10, 2004. 3 figures