Comparing Classical and Quantum Electromagnetics: Part 3 [Special Series: Guest Editorial

Abstract

Quantum technology is becoming increasingly important with the recent advancements in quantum computers. The article “Casimir Force: Vacuum Fluctuation, Zero-Point Energy, and Computational Electromagnetics,” by Xia et al., summarizes how to calculate the Casimir force in the simplest fashion. It gives a brief overview of quantum theory and quantum weirdness. It then explains the role of quantum theory in electromagnetics and how the Casimir energy is equal to the sum of the zero-point energies of different modes in a system. The zero-point energy gives rise to vacuum fluctuations that persist down to zero temperature. Next, the article shows how to find the electromagnetic modes of an electromagnetic system using computational electromagnetics. The authors discuss the use of the argument principle as a way of finding this sum of zero-point energies indirectly. Moreover, a broadband fast multipole algorithm is discussed that is error controllable from statics to microwave frequencies. As a result, both attractive and repulsive Casimir forces are demonstrated with some complex structures.