  The presence of boundary surfaces in the vacuum alters the ground state of
the quantized electromagnetic field and can lead to the appearance of vacuum
forces. In the last decade, landmark measurements of the vacuum stress between
conducting uncharged parallel plates (Casimir force) have been made. Recently
the first micromachined MEMS (microelectromechanical system) device was
fabricated that utilizes the Casimir force between parallel plates. The force
dependence allows the device to serve as a highly sensitive position sensor.
The are many other examples of quantum vacuum forces and effects besides the
well known parallel plate Casimir force. Here we discuss potential roles of
quantum vacuum forces and effects in MEMS systems and other systems. With the
growing capability in nanofabrication, some of the roles may be actualized in
the future. Because of the computational complexity, no theoretical results are
yet available for a number of potentially interesting geometries and we can
only speculate.
