ZPEnergy.com - A Predicted Repulsive Casimir Effect Using Exotic Chiral Metamaterials

Ames Laboratory research team discovers a new use for metamaterials that promises to eliminate mechanical friction in nanotechnology

The groundbreaking research, conducted through mathematical simulations, revealed the possibility of a new class of materials able to exert a repulsive force when they are placed in extremely close proximity to each other. The repulsive force, which harnesses a quantum phenomenon known as the Casimir effect, may someday allow nanoscale machines to overcome mechanical friction.

The findings were published in the Sept. 4, 2009 issue of Physical Review Letters, in an article entitled, “Repulsive Casimir Force in Chiral Metamaterials.”

this new discovery demonstrates that a repulsive Casimir effect is possible using chiral metamaterials. Chiral materials share an interesting characteristic: their molecular structure prevents them from being superimposed over a reverse copy of themselves, in the same way a human hand cannot fit perfectly atop a reverse image of itself. Chiral materials are fairly common in nature. The sugar molecule (sucrose) is one example. However, natural chiral materials are incapable of producing a repulsive Casimir effect that is strong enough to be of practical use...

More: http://nextbigfuture.com/2009/12/predicted-repulsive-casimir-effect.html