The recently suggested modification of the transverse electric contribution to the Lifshitz formula (S. K. Lamoreaux, arXiv:0801.1283) is discussed. We show that this modification is inconsistent with the data of two precise experiments, and violates
the Nernst heat theorem. The preprints suggestion concerning the resolution of the apparent violation of the Third Law of Thermodynamics is shown to be incorrect.
We review new constraints on the Yukawa-type corrections to Newtonian gravity obtained recently from gravitational experiments and from the measurements of the Casimir force. Special attention is paid to the constraints following from the most precis
e dynamic determination of the Casimir pressure between the two parallel plates by means of a micromechanical torsional oscillator. The possibility of setting limits on the predictions of chameleon field theories using the results of gravitational experiments and Casimir force measurements is discussed.
The low-temperature asymptotic expressions for the Casimir interaction between two real metals described by Leontovich surface impedance are obtained in the framework of thermal quantum field theory. It is shown that the Casimir entropy computed usin
g the impedance of infrared optics vanishes in the limit of zero temperature. By contrast, the Casimir entropy computed using the impedance of the Drude model attains at zero temperature a positive value which depends on the parameters of a system, i.e., the Nernst heat theorem is violated. Thus, the impedance of infrared optics withstands the thermodynamic test, whereas the impedance of the Drude model does not. We also perform a phenomenological analysis of the thermal Casimir force and of the radiative heat transfer through a vacuum gap between real metal plates. The characterization of a metal by means of the Leontovich impedance of the Drude model is shown to be inconsistent with experiment at separations of a few hundred nanometers. A modification of the impedance of infrared optics is suggested taking into account relaxation processes. The power of radiative heat transfer predicted from this impedance is several times less than previous predictions due to different contributions from the transverse electric evanescent waves. The physical meaning of low frequencies in the Lifshitz formula is discussed. It is concluded that new measurements of radiative heat transfer are required to find out the adequate description of a metal in the theory of electromagnetic fluctuations.
