Electric polarization fluctuation theory

Our simulation has shown that polyions are on average completely shielded electrostatically by counterions even in salt-free solutions. Two kinds of counterions, condensed and those forming a diffuse ion atmosphere, are distinguished not only by their spatial distributions but also by their fluctuation or polarization behaviors. The contribution from condensed counterions to the radial components of the electrical polarizability tensor is very small, as has often been postulated in various theories previously. But that from the diffuse ion cloud is very large and cannot be neglected in the calculation of the anisotropy. We have succeeded in the computational reproduction of one of the characteristic properties of polyelectrolytes in salt-... 

Interaction with the vacuum (Fig. 3.5a). In contemporary physics theory, the perfect vacuum does not just represent nothing. The electric field of the vacuum itself fluctuates about zero and these instantaneous fluctuations influence the motion of any chaiged particle. When a strong electric field operates in a vacuum, the latter undeigoes a polarization (called vacuum polarizfition), which means a spontaneous creation of matter, and more specifically, of particle-antiparticle pairs. 

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