Fluctuations of van der Waals attraction force between macroscopic bodies

A. Shulim Kogan

doi:10.1117/12.497417

9 May 2003 Fluctuations of Van Der Waals force between macroscopic bodies

A. Shulim Kogan

Proceedings Volume 5112, Noise as a Tool for Studying Materials; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.497417
Event: SPIE's First International Symposium on Fluctuations and Noise, 2003, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

Abstract

The theory of the fluctuations of the van der Waals (vdW) attractive force between macroscopic bodies is developed. A general equation for the spectral density of the fluctuating surface Maxwell stress (force per unit area) in vacuum near the surface of a body is derived under the assumption that, inside the bodies, the random Langevin sources of the electric and magnetic fields (charges, polarizations, currents) are Gaussian. This spectral density of stress is an integral over frequencies of a sum of terms each of which is a product of Fourier amplitudes of two field components' correlation functions. For metallic bodies, the contribution of free electrons to the vdW force (at frequencies up to the frequency of electron scattering) is calculated. This contribution to the force and its noise grows with temperature. Application of noiseless voltage to two interacting metals across the vacuum gap between them generates an additional force noise. This additional noise is proportional to the voltage squared and to the spectral density of the random electric field at the frequency of noise measurement. The theoretical qualitative conclusions are in good agreement with experiments.

Citation Download Citation

A. Shulim Kogan "Fluctuations of Van Der Waals force between macroscopic bodies", Proc. SPIE 5112, Noise as a Tool for Studying Materials, (9 May 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.497417

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available