The Casimir force between metallic mirrors

In order to compare recent experimental results with theoretical predictions we study the influence of finite conductivity of metals on the Casimir effect. The correction to the Casimir force and energy due to imperfect reflection and finite temperature are evaluated for plane metallic plates where the dielectric functions of the metals are modeled by a plasma model. The results are compared with the common approximation where conductivity and thermal corrections are evaluated separately and simply multiplied.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, contribution to MG9 proceeding

The Casimir effect in the nanoworld

The Casimir effect is a force arising in the macroscopic world as a result of radiation pressure of vacuum fluctuations. It thus plays a key role in the emerging domain of nano-electro-mechanical systems (NEMS). This role is reviewed in the present paper, with discussions of the influence of the material properties of the mirrors, as well as the geometry dependence of the Casimir effect between corrugated mirrors. In particular, the lateral component of the Casimir force and restoring torque between metal plates with misaligned corrugations are evaluated.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, contribution to CEWQO 2007 proceeding