The Casimir effect & the Casimir-Polder force are physical forces arising from a quantized field. Classical example is of two uncharged metallic plates in a vacuum filed, placed a few micrometers apart, without any (zero) external electromagnetic field. In a classical description, the lack of an external field also means that there is no field between the plates, & no force would be measured between them. When this field is instead studied using quantum mechanics, it is seen that the plates do affect the virtual photons which constitute the field, & generate a net force – either an attraction or a repulsion depending on the specific arrangement of the two plates. This force has been measured, & is a striking example of an effect purely due to second quantization.

Theoretically , exotic matter with negative energy density is required to stabilize a wormhole. Morris, Thorne and Yurtsever pointed out that the quantum mechanics of the Casimir effect can be used to produce a locally mass-negative region of space-time, & suggested that negative effect could be used to stabilize a wormhole to allow faster than light travel.

In relation to science-fiction film, although the nature of the effect has not been revealed yet, during an orientation video from TV series Lost, a Dharma Initiative doctor states that the island have a “natural Casimir effect”. This may explain why the Island exhibits strange temporal qualities like time displacement from the rest of the world.

(WikiPedia)