The "Kazimir Riddle", which describes the deviation of 5% between the measurement of the effect and the theory proposed by Lipshitz in the 20th century, is being explained for the first time. The new model accurately predicts the vacuum effect of the electromagnetic field on the plates through a different reference to the interaction of the vacuum noises created by "virtual" particles with the metal plates.
Researchers from the St. Petersburg Polytechnic proposed a new approach to describe the interaction of metal plates with the fluctuations in the electromagnetic field (random noises that arise from the structure of the vacuum in quantum field theory). The unique interaction can be measured by the "Casimir" effect, which was first described by Evgeni Lipshitz in the 20th century. The effect describes a significant attraction between 2 metal plates at minimal distances, smaller than a millionth of a meter. The attraction stems from the structure of the vacuum - particles can be formed spontaneously and disappear in an instant. When the plates are close enough, the amount of particles formed between the plates is significantly smaller than the particles formed outside the middle of them. The difference between the amount of particles creates a pressure difference that pulls the plates.
"Lipshitz's theory is accurate only if you don't take into account the wasted energy of the electrons inside the metal, but in fact the energy is small! The electrons in the metal move and create heat. This part of the puzzle was not taken into account and this is how the Casimir puzzle was discovered," explains Prof. Galina, the author of the article and a researcher at the Institute of Physics and Nanotechnology at the Polytechnic. The researchers showed for the first time how to solve the problem and explain the 5% gap between theory and measurement. In the new paper, the researchers described a broader model than the one Lifshitz presented. The current model takes into account the energy loss of the electrons by referring differently to the response of the plates to fluctuations. The researchers showed that the fluctuations that can be directly measured work in a similar way to the original Lipshitz model, but the virtual fluctuations (those that create and destroy "virtual" particles, which cannot be directly measured) create a different response in the plates than what was thought until now.
"The new approach offers a different way for the panels to react to vacuum. The 'real' speculators are described in a similar way to that first described by Lipshitz but the 'virtual' speculators contribute significantly and in a different way than the original model of the Casimir effect. Now the model is consistent with the loss of energy of the electrons in the metal" explains Prof. Vladimir, the author of the article.
The published results refer to non-magnetized materials. In the future, the researchers hope to extend the theory to materials that tend to become magnetized, so that in the future a more complete theory on the effect of the vacuum on electrical devices will be obtained.
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