On the problem of van der Waals forces in dielectric media
Statistical Mechanics
2015-05-20 v1
Abstract
A short review of the problems which arise in the generalization of the Lifshitz theory of van der Waals force in the case of forces inside dielectric media is presented, together with some historical remarks. General properties of the stress tensor of equilibrium electromagnetic field in media are discussed, and the importance of the conditions of mechanical equilibrium is stressed. The physical meaning of the repulsive van der Waals interaction between bodies immersed in a liquid is discussed.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1011.5591,
title = {On the problem of van der Waals forces in dielectric media},
author = {Lev P. Pitaevskii},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1011.5591},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
10 pages, 2 figures. To be published in "Casimir Physics", Lecture Notes in Physics Series, Springer