  The Casimir effect, the dispersion force attracting neutral objects to each
other, may be understood in terms of multiple scattering of light between the
interacting bodies. We explore the simple model in which the bodies are assumed
to possess reflection coefficients independent of the energy and angle of
incidence of an impinging field and show how a multitude of information can be
extracted within the geometry of two parallel plates. The full thermal
behaviour of the model is found and we discuss how non-analytic behaviour
emerges in the combined limits of zero temperature and perfect reflection.
Finally we discuss the possibility of a generalised force conjugate to the
reflection coefficients of the interacting materials and how, if the materials
involved were susceptible to changing their reflective properties, this would
tend to enhance the Casimir attraction. The dependence of this correction on
separation is studied for the constant reflection model, indicating that the
effect is likely to be negligible under most experimental circumstances.
