Surface electric noise, i.e., the non-uniform distribution of charges and
potentials on a surface, poses a great experimental challenge in modern
precision force measurements. Such a challenge is encountered in a number of
different experimental circumstances. The scientists employing atomic force
microscopy (AFM) have long focused their efforts to understand the
surface-related noise issues via variants of AFM techniques, such as Kelvin
probe force microscopy or electric force microscopy. Recently, the physicists
investigating quantum vacuum fluctuation phenomena between two closely-spaced
objects have also begun to collect experimental evidence indicating a presence
of surface effects neglected in their previous analyses. It now appears that
the two seemingly disparate science communities are encountering effects rooted
in the same surface phenomena. In this report, we suggest specific experimental
tasks to be performed in the near future that are crucial not only for
fostering needed collaborations between the two communities, but also for
providing valuable data on the surface effects in order to draw the most
realistic conclusion about the actual contribution of the Casimir force (or van
der Waals force) between a pair of real materials.Comment: The paper appeared in the Proceedings to the 12th International
Conference on Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy (NC-AFM 2009) and Casimir
2009 Satellite Worksho
