Precision measurement of the Casimir force using gold surfaces - art. no. 052109

A precision measurement of the Casimir force using metallic gold surfaces i s reported. The force is measured between a large gold-coated sphere and fl at plate using an atomic force microscope. The use of gold surfaces removes some theoretical uncertainties in the interpretation of the measurement. T he forces are also measured at smaller surface separations. The complete di electric spectrum of the metal is used in the comparison of theory to the e xperiment. The average statistical precision remains at the same 1% of the forces measured at the closest separation. These results should lead to the development of stronger constraints on hypothetical forces.