Gold flakes expose the secret forces binding our world together

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a method to observe fundamental forces that bind objects together at microscopic scales using gold flakes suspended in salt water under an optical microscope. The setup allows scientists to visualize these forces as colorful patterns produced by light trapped in nanoscopic cavities between the gold flakes and a gold-coated glass plate. Doctoral student Michaela Hošková demonstrated this technique, which enables observation of the delicate balance between attractive Casimir forces and repulsive electrostatic forces without interfering with natural movements. The findings were published in the journal PNAS.

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