"A team of physicists is claiming to have coaxed sparks from the vacuum
of empty space1. If verified, the finding would be one of the most
unusual experimental proofs of quantum mechanics in recent years and "a
significant milestone", says John Pendry, a theoretical physicist at
Imperial College London who was not involved in the study. "

"At the heart of the experiment is one of the weirdest, and most
important, tenets of quantum mechanics: the principle that empty space
is anything but. Quantum theory predicts that a vacuum is actually a
writhing foam of particles flitting in and out of existence."

"The result was a shower of microwave photons shaken loose from the
vacuum, the team claims. The group's analysis shows that the frequency
of the photons was roughly half the frequency at which they wiggled the
mirror — as was predicted by quantum theory."

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/1106....2011.346.html

Regards,
JS