Researchers from the Department of Energy, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology have developed a new method to calculate the Casimir force between metal plates with complex nanoscale structures. The Casimir force is a quantum mechanical effect that causes uncharged conductors to attract each other at small distances.
Previous calculations of this force for complex nanostructures were extremely time-consuming and prone to errors, requiring weeks of computer time to solve Maxwell’s equations thousands of times. The new method involves pre-calculating a series of eigenmodes (exact solutions for specific cases) that can be combined more simply to produce the force for any given periodic nanostructure.
This analytical approach not only speeds up calculations but also provides insight into how the force behaves in various situations. The researchers are now applying these techniques to analyze recent Casimir force experiments on nanostructured surfaces. The new method is expected to have a significant impact on the field of quantum mechanics and its applications in nanotechnology, particularly in the development of microscopic mechanical sensors, actuators, and electrical relay devices.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2013/02/calculating-quantum-vacuum-forces-nanostructures
Keywords: nanoscale, nanostructured, electromagnetic
