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Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 560 - 563 (1993)

Measurement of the Casimir-Polder force

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C. I. Sukenik, M. G. Boshier, D. Cho, V. Sandoghdar, and E. A. Hinds
Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520

Received 26 October 1992

We have studied the deflection of ground-state sodium atoms passing through a micron-sized parallel-plate cavity by measuring the intensity of a sodium atomic beam transmitted through the cavity as a function of cavity plate separation. This experiment provides clear evidence for the existence of the Casimir-Polder force, which is due to modification of the ground-state Lamb shift in the confined space of a cavity. Our results confirm the magnitude of the force and the distance dependence predicted by quantum electrodynamics.


©1993 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.560
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.560
PACS: 42.50.Wm, 32.70.Jz, 42.50.Lc

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