Casimir Effect

Force on the boundaries of a confined space arising from quantum vacuum fluctuations, predicted in 1948 and measured to 5% in 1997.

Specifications & Metrics

A physical force acting on the macroscopic boundaries of a confined space, arising from the quantum fluctuations of a field.
Casimir's 1948 result generalizes the London–van der Waals force, including retardation from the finite speed of light.
Steven Lamoreaux's 1997 experiment measured the force to within 5% of the predicted value.