An experimental apparatus for measuring the Casimir effect at large distances

Abstract

An experimental set-up for the measurement of the Casimir effect at separations larger than a few microns is presented. The apparatus is based on a mechanical resonator and uses a homodyne detection technique to sense the Casimir force in the plane-parallel configuration. First measurements in the 3-10 micrometer range show an unexpected large force probably due to patch effects. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.