Electromagnetic fluctuations in matter and molecular (Van-der-Waals) forces between them

A large number of recent articles are devoted to the theory of Van-der-Waals forces between macroscopic bodies, and to a number of related questions. Attention is being paid both to the solution of various concrete problems and to the development of a general theory. The latter is necessitated by the fact that the Van-der-Waals theory of forces between bodies is known to be quite cumbersome. Through certain efforts, the theory expounded in this review has been simplified in certain respects, and was also generalized. The review describes, first, a “simple” theory of Van-der-Waals forces (Chap. 2), which in our opinion is particularly clear and technically simple without adversely affecting the accuracy of the calculations. Second, we develop and describe a rather common and seemingly sufficiently lucid approach, which permits calculation of the contribution of the long-wave equilibrium electromagnetic field and the thermodynamic characteristics of condensed bodies (Chap. 3). Third, results are presented of a number of concrete calculations for Van-der-Waals forces between bodies (Chap. 4).