Russian physicists have discovered that stable structures of metal films can spontaneously form in organic salt solutions due to the Casimir effect. This effect, caused by quantum fluctuations in the vacuum, causes mutual attraction between objects. The discovery could be used to create self-assembling optical resonators, the MIPT Center for Scientific Communications said.
Denis Baranov, a leading researcher at MIPT, explained that the interaction between the films leads to the formation of light-amplifying “boxes.” This can be done without complex nanofabrication, using just a salt solution and gold films that come together to form the desired structures. The discovery was accidental: Battulga Mukbat noticed that in some cases the films stop their chaotic motion, move closer together, and stay in that position indefinitely.
Research has shown that this behavior is due to the Casimir effect, which causes flat objects to attract each other due to quantum fluctuations. However, in a salt solution, gold films do not stick together as a single plate, but rather approach a distance of 100-200 nanometers due to electrostatic interactions. Scientists have prepared a theoretical description of the process that could allow them to create more complex devices to manipulate light and control chemical reactions.
Source: Ferra
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