Quantum and thermal fluctuations of electromagnetic fields, which give rise to Planck's law of blackbody radiation, are also responsible for van der Waals and Casimir forces, as well as near-field radiative energy transfer between objects. Electromagnetic waves transport energy, momentum, and entropy. For classical thermal radiation, the dependence of the above mentioned quantities on the temperature is well-known mainly due to Planck's work. When near-field effects, namely the collective influence of diffraction, interference, and tunneling of surface waves, become important, Planck's theory is no longer valid. In this book, the author investigates the transport of momentum, energy, and entropy due to electromagnetic fluctuations while taking into account near-field effects.

Prof. Yi Zheng is a faculty of mechanical engineering at the University of Rhode Island. He leads Micro and Nanoscale Energy Laboratory, which emphasizes study of nanoscale thermal transport phenomena and applications in energy conversion and harvesting systems. He received Ph.D. and M.S. from Columbia University, and B.S. from Tsinghua University.