The nonlinear dynamics of a cylindrical pinion that is kept at a distancefrom a vibrating rack is studied, and it is shown that the lateral Casimirforce between the two corrugated surfaces can be rectified. The effects offriction and external load are taken into account and it is shown that thepinion can do work against loads of up to a critical value, which is set by theamplitude of the lateral Casimir force. We present a phase diagram for therectified motion that could help its experimental investigations, as the systemexhibits a chaotic behavior in a large part of the parameter space.
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