Trapping of a Conducting Nanoparticle by Long-Range Surface Forces

Abstract

We study theoretically the trapping of a nanoparticle by a rotational motion around another nanoparticle caused by surface forces comprising electrostatic and Casimir forces. We introduce a local power exponent of the surface force as a function of the separation distance and show that it strongly depends on the electric charges carried by the nanoparticles. The stability of circular motions depends mainly on the local power exponent, and if the electric charges are not zero and the mass of the nanoparticle is small, then the stable tapping is possible in the Earth's gravity field. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2011.301]