Casimir Effects
Peter W Milonni
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Seminar at Louisiana State University, May 2, 2008
Casimir effects refer to forces associated with changes in the
zero-point energy of a quantum field. The origins of the concept of
zero-point field energy will be reviewed, and attention will then be
focused on the most famous Casimir effect---the force between
uncharged, parallel conducting plates that has in recent years been
confirmed in several experiments. Since this effect has been regarded
as ìone of the least intuitive effects in quantum
electrodynamics, an attempt will be made to explain the effect in
fairly simple and intuitive terms.