What Exactly is a Zero Point Field (ZPE)

Post 18

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4721

 

Post 18

 

did the Casimir effect get discussed in this connection?

 

it seems to me IIRC that the vacuum energy in the space between two conducting plates varies as the fourth power of the separation between them, and this was checked experimentally

 

maybe we dont know how to calculate the vacuum energy (or perhaps someone does and i didnt hear about it)

and there seems no reason to imagine that we could utilize it, in any case!

 

but even tho we may not be able to calculate it or utilize it

we still know something------that between two conductors the amount of energy is affected by the dimensions of the gap

 

IIRC the experiement was done with two gold spheres----could have used flat plates too I guess

 

anyone want explain or clarify?

is this relevant to the thread-starter's question on ZPE

This might do the trick: http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4415

yes there we are! post #5 in that thread, by swansont

explains the energy between two conducting plates!

 

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?p=58951#post58951

 

the key point is that it varies with (as the fourth power of IIRC) the separation

so that pulling the plates apart, ever so slightly, increases the

vacuum energy between them----and requires work, implying an attractive force

 

now I have it, thanks Sayo, having trouble with the url

58951