Casimir force at both nonzero temperature and finite conductivity
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
M Bordag1, B Geyer, G L Klimchitskaya
1Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leipzig University, Augustusplatz 10/11, 04109 Leipzig, Germany. Michael.Bordag@itp.uni-leipzig.de
Abstract:
We find the combined effect of nonzero temperature and finite conductivity onto the Casimir force between real metals. Configurations of two parallel plates and a sphere (lens) above a plate are considered. Perturbation theory in two parameters (the relative temperature and the relative penetration depth of zero-point oscillations into the metal) is developed. Perturbative results are compared with computations. Recent improper computations based on the Lifshitz formula for the temperature Casimir force are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Electric Field Inside a Conductor
Suppose a piece of metal is placed near a positive charge. The free electrons in the metal are attracted to the external positive charge and migrate freely toward that region. This region then has...
Electric Field at the Surface of a Conductor
In the 19th century, Michael Faraday conducted the famous ice pail experiment to prove that the charges always reside on the surface of a conductor. The experimental set-up consists of a conducting uncharged container mounted on an insulating stand. The outer surface of the container is...
Superconductor
Electrical Conductivity
In a practical conductor, an applied electric field may be sustained, causing a flow of electrons, which produce a current. The differential form of the current, the current density, is related to the electric field.
More generally, it is related to the force per unit charge, which involves the...
Theory of Metallic Conduction
In this theory, Newton's second law of motion is used to determine the acceleration of an electron in the presence of an applied electric field. Then, its velocity is expressed via this acceleration.
An electron moves through the crystal, containing positive ions,...
Debye–Huckel–Onsager Conductance Equation

