Research in a Vacuum: DARPA Tries to Tap Elusive Casimir Effect for Breakthrough Technology
Casimir forces on parallel plates. (Wikimedia Commons)Adam Marcus writes in Scientific American: “Named for a Dutch physicist, the Casimir effect governs interactions of matter with the energy that is present in a vacuum. Success in harnessing this force could someday help researchers develop low-friction ballistics and even levitating objects that defy gravity. For now, the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched a two-year, $10-million project e
