Beschreibung:
Despite more than half a century of theoretical work, the Casimir effect is still not as fully understood as some suppose. In this treatise, the author uncovers new puzzles and paradoxes concerning this mysterious phenomenon. In particular, he clearly demonstrates that the most sophisticated theories fail when confronted with dielectrics in which the refractive index is not uniform but gradually changes.
Despite more than half a century of theoretical work, the Casimir effect is still not as fully understood as some suppose. In this treatise, the author uncovers new puzzles and paradoxes concerning this mysterious phenomenon. In particular, he clearly demonstrates that the most sophisticated theories fail when confronted with dielectrics in which the refractive index is not uniform but gradually changes.
Part I Foundations of Casimir Theory.- Casimir's Calculation.- Macroscopic Quantum Electrodynamics.- The Quantum Nature of the Casimir Force.- Part II Surprises in Casimir Theory.- The Cut-off-dependence of the Casimir Force.- The Divergence of the Casimir Stress.- Part III Conundrums in Casimir Theory.- The Casimir Force in a `Compressive' Medium.- The Casimir Force in Maxwell's Fish-Eye.- Outlook.- Appendices.