What Distance Makes the Casimir Effect Negligible?

  • Context: Graduate 
  • Thread starter Thread starter _PJ_
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Casimir effect Limit
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the Casimir Effect and the distance at which this effect becomes negligible. Participants explore the relationship between distance, surface area of the plates, and the balance of internal and external pressures affecting the plates. The conversation also touches on related concepts such as capillary action and quantum foam.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the distance at which the Casimir Effect becomes negligible, suggesting that there may be a balance point between internal and external pressures on the plates.
  • Another participant draws an analogy to gravitational attraction, noting that it also weakens with distance without a sharp cutoff.
  • A third participant emphasizes that the term "negligible" requires a comparative context, suggesting that it is not an absolute measure.
  • There is a mention of a potential connection between capillary action and the Casimir Effect, particularly in small spaces influenced by quantum foam.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the specific distance at which the Casimir Effect becomes negligible, and multiple competing views regarding the nature of "negligibility" and its dependence on context remain present.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the complexity of defining "negligible" in the context of the Casimir Effect and suggests that assumptions about surface area and pressure balance may influence interpretations.

_PJ_
Messages
229
Reaction score
15
I was thinking recently about the Casimir Effect and at what distance does the effect become negligible?

Is there any relevance on the surface area (or difference in areas) between the plates (I personally held the opposite, that any point can be considered to have equivalent pressure as any other approximated over time).

Naturally, this distance would entail the point at which there is a balance between the internal (i.e. between plates) and external pressures is when the plates are no longer 'pushed' together as result, but at what length does this occur? Presumably there will always be a very slight imbalance one way or the other due to continuous fluctuation, although at the given length there will be an overall equilibrium so as there is no net change in the plate positions over time.

----

ALMOST related, and perhaps worthy of its own thread, but it is relevant enough to be here I felt, is there any evidence or possibility for "capillary action" or suitable equivalent analogue with Casimir effect type small spaces and quantum foam 'fluidity'?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
At what distance does the gravitational attraction of Earth become negligible? There is no sharp border, it just gets weaker and weaker.

For parallel plates of ideal conductivity, it is ##\displaystyle {F_c \over A} = -\frac {\hbar c \pi^2} {240 a^4}## with the distance a.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: bhobba
Negligible only has meaning with respect to some kind of comparison.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: vanhees71
mfb said:
At what distance does the gravitational attraction of Earth become negligible? There is no sharp border, it just gets weaker and weaker.

For parallel plates of ideal conductivity, it is ##\displaystyle {F_c \over A} = -\frac {\hbar c \pi^2} {240 a^4}## with the distance a.
Thank you so much!

As is usually the case with such questions, with hindsight it seems remarkably obvious!
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 46 ·
2
Replies
46
Views
6K
  • · Replies 49 ·
2
Replies
49
Views
6K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 23 ·
Replies
23
Views
9K