Casimir Interaction from Magnetically Coupled Eddy Currents

Journal Article · Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 EDT 2009 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.103.130405· OSTI ID:21370687

Intravaia, Francesco; Henkel, Carsten ^[1]

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1. Institut fuer Physik und Astronomie, Universitaet Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam (Germany)

We study the quantum and thermal fluctuations of eddy (Foucault) currents in thick metallic plates. A Casimir interaction between two plates arises from the coupling via quasistatic magnetic fields. As a function of distance, the relevant eddy current modes cross over from a quantum to a thermal regime. These modes alone reproduce previously discussed thermal anomalies of the electromagnetic Casimir interaction between good conductors. In particular, they provide a physical picture for the Casimir entropy whose nonzero value at zero temperature arises from a correlated, glassy state.

• OSTI ID: 21370687
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Vol. 103, Issue 13; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.130405; (c) 2009 The American Physical Society; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
EDDY CURRENTS
ENTROPY
FLUCTUATIONS
INTERACTIONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETIC FLUX
PLATES
CURRENTS
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
VARIATIONS