Related papers: A torsion balance for probing a non-standard force…
We discuss a proposal to measure the Casimir force in the parallel plate configuration in the $1-10\mu$m range via a high-sensitivity torsional balance. This will allow to measure the thermal contribution to the Casimir force therefore…
A general analysis of thermal noise in torsion pendulums is presented. The specific case where the torsion angle is kept fixed by electronic feedback is analyzed. This analysis is applied to a recent experiment that employed a torsion…
The Cavendish torsion balance is the instrument of choice for measuring weak forces, such as gravity. Although torsion balances have extremely high sensitivity for measuring forces over ranges of a few cm and more, their dynamics make it…
We report development of a high-sensitivity torsion balance to measure the thermal Casimir force. Special emphasis is placed on experimental investigations of a possible surface electric force originating from surface patch potentials that…
We compare theory and experiment in the Casimir force measurement between gold surfaces performed with the atomic force microscope. Both random and systematic experimental errors are found leading to a total absolute error equal to 8.5 pN…
We report the search for a nonstandard force by measuring the Casimir forces in the 0.48--6.5 $\mu$m range. By comparing the data and the theory of the Casimir force, we have obtained constraints for the parameter $\alpha$ of the…
The presence of finite energy in quantum vacuum has profound implications to physics at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. One of the direct consequences of vacuum energy is the Casimir Force, which is a force of attraction experienced…
We discuss experimental schemes to measure the Casimir force and short range forces from hypothetical modified gravity with unprecedented sensitivity using highly sensitive prototype gravitational wave detectors as displacement sensors. The…
We report measurements of the short-range forces between two macroscopic gold-coated plates using a torsion pendulum. The force is measured for separations between 0.7 $\mu$m and 7 $\mu$m, and is well described by a combination of the…
The force experienced by objects embedded in a correlated medium undergoing thermal fluctuations--the so-called fluctuation--induced force--is actually itself a fluctuating quantity. We compute the corresponding probability distribution and…
We show that the Casimir force gradient can be quantitatively measured with no contact involved. Results of the Casimir force measurement with systematic uncertainty of 3% are presented for the distance range of 100-600 nm. The statistical…
This white paper is submitted as part of Snowmass2013 (subgroup CF2). The extraordinary sensitivity of torsion-balances can be used to search for the ultra-feeble forces suggested by attempts to unify gravity with the other fundamental…
We obtain constraints on non-Newtonian gravity following from the improved precision measurement of the Casimir force by means of atomic force microscope. The hypothetical force is calculated in experimental configuration (a sphere above a…
We comment on progress in measurements of the Casimir force and discuss what is the actual reliability of different experiments. In this connection a more rigorous approach to the usage of such concepts as accuracy, precision, and measure…
We have performed a precise experimental determination of the Casimir pressure between two gold-coated parallel plates by means of a micromachined oscillator. In contrast to all previous experiments on the Casimir effect, where a small…
The torsion pendulum is a prevailing instrument for measuring small forces acting on a solid body or those between solid bodies. While it offers powerful advantages, the measurement precision suffers from thermal noises of the suspending…
We have used an atomic force microscope to make precision measurements of the Casimir force between a metallized sphere of diameter 196 microns and flat plate. The force was measured for plate-sphere separations from 0.1 to 0.9 microns. The…
In this paper, we introduce the experiment based on a sensitive torsion pendulum for measuring and calibrating small forces at nanonewton scale. The force standard for calibration is the universal gravitation between four masses separated…
So far there has been no reliable method to calculate the Casimir force at separations comparable to the root-mean-square of the height fluctuations of the surfaces. Statistical analysis of rough gold samples has revealed the presence of…
The search for non-relativistic deviations from Newtonian gravitation can lead to new phenomena signalling the unification of gravity with the other fundamental interactions. Various recent theoretical frameworks indicate a possible window…