Noncontact frictional force between surfaces by peristaltic permittivity modulation

TL;DR

This paper investigates noncontact frictional forces arising from electromagnetic interactions due to peristaltic permittivity modulation in a layered setup involving a grating, revealing new insights into electromagnetic power transfer and lateral forces.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for noncontact friction via permittivity modulation and analyzes the resulting electromagnetic power loss and lateral forces.

Findings

Identification of noncontact frictional forces due to permittivity modulation

Quantification of electromagnetic power transfer and lateral forces

Demonstration of effects in a layered electromagnetic setup

Abstract

In this study, we reveal noncontact frictional forces between surfaces in the presence of peristaltic permittivity modulation. Our setup comprises a conducting medium, an air gap, and a dielectric substrate on which we have a space-time-modulated grating that emits electromagnetic radiation. The radiation receives energy and momentum from the grating, which is eventually absorbed by the conducting medium or propagates away from the grating on the dielectric side, resulting in electromagnetic power loss and lateral forces at the surfaces.