Casimir Juggling

Casimir forces can dominate system behavior at the nanoscale;
increasingly, efforts are being made to control and exploit them [1-3].
Here we propose a simple method for contact-free, dynamic levitation,
handling, and physical diagnosis of micron and sub-micron particles in
vacuum using these forces. This `Casimir juggling' should sidestep the
negative effects of stiction and contact contamination. Analytic
calculations and numerical modeling show particles can be
levitated, transported and deposited with nanometer precision using
kHz-MHz active-feedback Casimir probes. Standard laboratory techniques
appear adequate to experimentally test this proposal.
[1] V.A. Parsegian, Van der Waals Forces: A Handbook for Biologists,
Chemists, Engineers, and Physicists (Cambridge University Press, 2006).
[2] D.P. Sheehan and S.H. Nogami, Micro and Nanosystems 3, 348 (2011).
[3] D.P. Sheehan, D.P., J. Chem. Phys. 131, 104706 (2009).