Am 05.09.2011 23:56, schrieb Horace Heffner:
Good question Peter,
A possible answer begins on page 7 of:
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/CasimirGenerator.pdf
The lateral forces on capacitor plates is due to fringe fields. The
Casimir force is highly non-linear, so fringe forces differ from
electrostatic forces, and this difference leads to a means to extract
zero point energy.
Yes but highly non-linear means very difficult to calculate, bvut doesnt
necessarily mean the it is a nonconservative force.
Casimir force is heavily researched nowadays, because it is the
strongest force at nanometer distances and therefore a big problem for
nanomachines. This doesnt look like a nonconservative force.
The other point is, that there are experiments to measure the force, but
these dont give 100% proof, so it is unproven.
There are theories that deny vacuum energy and derive the casimir force
from other atomic forces.
It was never measured between parallel plates, because this is
technically too difficult. For the experimental proof they used a gold
plate and a gold sphere and they needed 1/2 year until they had removed
all dust and could measure it.
So it is only indirectly proven, because the results from this
measurement had to be extrapolated.
Also, Casimir force was -to my knowledge- never measured near zero
degrees Kelvin, which would be necessary for a proof.
Here is an alternative theory that explains the casimir force from
electrostatics:
http://www.esdjournal.com/techpapr/prevens/casimir/casimir.htm
The author says, the force doesnt exist at absolute zero.
I am unable to go deep into all this (Or I might be able, but dont see
why it would be rewarding for me), so which of all this theories should
I believe? I dont know ;-)
Best,
Peter
