The Casimir effect

About 50 years ago, Heinrich Casimir discovered that in a vacuum between two surfaces there is a certain attraction force. This power can create a real revolution in science.

If we take two mirrors and install them in an empty space, an attraction begins between them, since there is a vacuum between them. This phenomenon was discovered by Casimir in 1948, when he was engaged in research activities at the scientific center in Eindhoven. This phenomenon was called the Casimir effect, and the force that arises between the two mirrors is the force of Casimir.

For a long time it was believed that the Casimir effect is nothing more than an amusing theory. However, lately there has been an increased interest in this phenomenon. It was found that the Casimir force directly affects the microscopic mechanisms, and thanks to the progress in the technical equipment this force can be measured with increased accuracy.

This effect may be of some interest for fundamental physics. There are many theories, according to which there are extended extended dimensions in ten-dimensional and eleven-dimensional theories. In accordance with these theories, there is a certain deviation from the standard gravity of Newton at distances to the smallest fractions of a millimeter. Therefore, by measuring the effect of the Casimir effect, one can verify the hypothesis data.

The study of Casimir colloidal solutions

Working in the scientific center in Eindhoven, Kazimir investigated the properties characteristic of colloidal solutions. These are substances with a high viscosity index, in which there are particles with the size of a micron. Their properties define Van der Waals forces - these are long-range attraction forces that arise between molecules and atoms that are neutral.

Theo Overbeck, Casimir's colleague, noted that the theory of Fritz London to describe the van der Waals forces can not give a correct estimate of the experimental data. He asked Casimir to work on this problem. Casimir found that it is impossible to correctly describe the interaction observed between two neutral molecules, proceeding from the fact that the speed of light is constant.

After this, the scientist noted that this result can be described if we take into account atom fluctuations. Fluctuation is a term that characterizes all types of fluctuations and periodic changes. Then the scientist thought that instead of two molecules, two mirrors could be installed, which would be turned towards each other by reflecting sides. So he predicted the force of attraction that exists between the reflecting plates.

The dynamic Casimir effect

In accordance with quantum theory, vacuum is not an ordinary emptiness. It regularly observes energy fluctuations - virtual particles and antiparticles are born and die. They are able to exert pressure. This phenomenon was called the "static Casimir effect." It was proved by experiments. However, there is theoretically a dynamic Casimir effect - the transformation of vacuum fluctuations into real particles (for example, photons). This effect was observed by scientists.

With the dynamic Casimir effect, the mirrors had to oscillate, and their speed should be comparable with the speed of light. For this, physicists had to install metal surfaces in a strong magnetic field. The rate of oscillation of this field was eleven billion times per second. The surfaces began to deform at a speed that was 5% of the light, and the appearance of photons was recorded at the output. Judging by the properties of photons, it could be argued that they arose in pairs.