  The dependence of the Casimir force on material properties is important for
both future applications and to gain further insight on its fundamental
aspects. Here we derive a general theory of the Casimir force for
low-conducting compounds, or poor metals. For distances in the micrometer
range, a large variety of such materials is described by universal equations
containing a few parameters: the effective plasma frequency, dissipation rate
of the free carriers, and electric permittivity in the infrared range. This
theory can also describe inhomogeneous composite materials containing small
regions with different conductivity. The Casimir force for mechanical systems
involving samples made with compounds that have a metal-insulator transition
shows an abrupt large temperature dependence of the Casimir force within the
transition region, where metallic and dielectric phases coexist.

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics;Materials Science