Radiation Heat Transfer between Closely Spaced Metal Surfaces at Low Temperature: The Impact of Discrete Modes of the Radiation Field

The present analysis shows that for closely spaced metal surfaces at low temperature, the heat transfer due to traveling waves greatly exceeds the results of classical theory. The origin of this nonclassical behavior is due to the fact that for closely spaced metal surfaces the density of normal modes of the radiation field greatly exceeds Jeans’ number. This higher modal density results in a greater than classical energy density in the cavity and thus greater heat transfer. The results of this theory are shown to be consistent with the experiments of Domoto, Boehm, and Tien on heat transfer between closely spaced metal surfaces at low temperatures.