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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Development of an Experimental Setup for the Measurement of the Coefficient of Restitution under Vacuum Conditions
Published on: March 29, 2016
Vacuum friction in rotating particles
A Manjavacas1, F J García de Abajo
1Instituto de Optica-CSIC, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
We study the frictional torque acting on particles rotating in empty space. At zero temperature, vacuum friction transforms mechanical energy into light emission and produces particle heating. However, particle cooling relative to the environment occurs at finite temperatures and low rotation velocities. Radiation emission is boosted and its spectrum significantly departed from a hot-body emission profile as the velocity increases. Stopping times ranging from hours to billions of years are predicted for materials, particle sizes, and temperatures accessible to experiment. Implications for the behavior of cosmic dust are discussed.
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