What this work contributes
Measures Casimir interactions with patterned silicon at separations of 150–500 nm. Deviations from pairwise addition demonstrate that geometry changes the force and that simply summing independent microcavities is unreliable.
Where the evidence stops
The result does not establish thrust, levitation of a vehicle, or unlimited scaling. Finite conductivity affects comparison with perfect-conductor calculations; a 2011 erratum is linked by the publisher.
Keep the conditions with the result
- Measured / modeled quantity
- Casimir interaction between a gold sphere and trenched silicon
- Reported scale
- Measurements at 150–500 nm surface separations
- Conditions
- Micromechanical torsional oscillator; finite material conductivity and nanoscale geometry; publisher links a 2011 erratum.
- Evidence context
- Laboratory experiment — Chan et al., 2008
- Design use
- Use geometry-aware calculations. Summing independent microcavity forces is not a valid whole-hull scaling argument, and a component interaction does not establish vehicle thrust.
Original source
H. B. Chan, Y. Bao, J. Zou, R. A. Cirelli, F. Klemens, W. M. Mansfield, C. S. Pai. Measurement of the Casimir Force between a Gold Sphere and a Silicon Surface with Nanoscale Trench Arrays. Physical Review Letters 101, 030401 (2008).
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.030401
How we use it
This record belongs to Geometry & materials. Its evidence label describes the cited work, not the maturity of a Metric Flight device. Follow the original methods, corrections and conditions before transferring a result to a different geometry or scale.
Editorial note reviewed 19 October 2026. AI assisted research discovery and synthesis. Citation metadata and claims were checked against primary publication or institutional records; full-text access varies. Read the source for the complete method.