The subject of this book is the Casimir effect, a manifestation of zero-point oscillations of the quantum vacuum resulting in forces acting between closely spaced bodies. For the benefit of the reader, the book assembles field-theoretical foundations of this phenomenon, applications of the general theory to real materials, and a comprehensive description of all recently performed measurements of the Casimir force with a comparison between experiment and theory. The book is a unique source of information presenting a critical assessment of all the main results and approaches from hundreds of journal papers.

1. Introduction I: PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE CASIMIR EFFECT FOR IDEAL BOUNDARIES 2. Simple Models of the Casimir effect 3. Field quantization and vacuum energy in the presence of boundaries 4. Regularization and renormalization of the vacuum energy 5. The Casimir effect at nonzero temperature 6. Approximate and numerical approaches to the Casimir effect 7. The Casimir effect for two ideal metal planes 8. The Casimir effect in rectangular boxes 9. Single spherical and cylindrical boundaries 10. The Casimir force between objects of arbitrary shape 11. Spaces with non-Euclidean topology II: THE CASIMIR FORCE BETWEEN REAL BODIES 12. The Lifshitz theory of van der Waals and Casimir forces between plane dielectrics 13. The Casimir interaction between plates made of real metals at zero temperature 14. The Casimir interaction between real metals at nonzero temperature 15. The Casimir interaction between metal and dielectric 16. The Lifshitz theory of atom-wall interaction 17. The Casimir force between rough and corrugated surfaces III: MEASUREMENTS OF THE CASIMIR FORCE AND THEIR APPLICATIONS IN BOTH FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS AND NANOTECHNOLOGY 18. General requirements for Casimir force measurements 19. Measurements of the Casimir force between equals 20. Measurements of the Casimir force with semiconductors 21. Measurements of the Casimir force in configurations with corrugated surfaces 22. Measurement of the Casimir-Polder force 23. Applications of the Casimir force in nanotechnology 24. Constraints on hypothetical interactions from the Casimir effect 25. Conclusions and outlook

Michael Bordag , Center of Theoretical Studies and Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leipzig University, Germany, Galina Leonidovna Klimchitskaya , Department of Physics, North-West Technical University, St.Petersburg, Russia and Center of Theoretical Studies and Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leipzig University, Germany, Umar Mohideen , Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, USA, Vladimir Mikhaylovich Mostepanenko , Noncommercial Partnership "Scientific Instruments", Moscow, Russia and Center of Theoretical Studies and Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leipzig University, Germany

`This is the first modern, comprehensive book on the Casimir effect, a very timely subject of growing importance and general appeal in physics. Although the Casimir effect has been an intriguing subject on its own right for more than half a century, it is experiencing a renaissance at the moment, because only fairly recently first precise measurements of the Casimir force have been made and because the Casimir effect is becoming important in nanotechnology. ' Ulf Leonhardt, University of St Andrews