Phys.org December 11, 2019
Recent theory has predicted that quantum fluctuations of electromagnetic fields could induce phonon coupling across a vacuum and thereby facilitate heat transfer. Researchers at UC Berkeley experimentally demonstrated heat transfer induced by quantum fluctuations between two objects separated by a vacuum gap. They used nanomechanical systems to realize strong phonon coupling through vacuum fluctuations and observed the exchange of thermal energy between individual phonon modes. The experimental observation agrees well with their theoretical calculations and is unambiguously distinguished from other effects such as near-field radiation and electrostatic interaction…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
In a new study, University of California, Berkeley, researchers show that heat energy can travel through a complete vacuum thanks to invisible quantum fluctuations. Credit: Zhang Lab, UC Berkeley