Quantitative Evaluation of the Lifshitz-Type Temperature Effect on the Casimir Force

Abstract

We consider the extension of the Casimir effect to finite temperatures in the ideal case of perfectly reflecting plates. We apply Lifshitz’s theory in its Dzyaloshinskii version, and calculate the resulting force numerically for various plate distances. We show that the limiting expression found in the literature corresponds to unrealistic values of the parameters for which the force is too small to be measurable. Preliminary remark: There exists a huge literature on the Casimir effect both theoretical and experimental. In this note we concentrate on a particular point of the subject, quoting only references directly related to this point.