Amazing Magnetic Device!

So, this has to be some of the coolest science that I have seen in a long time. It's a magnetic device that allows you to levitate a small disk above the object using magnetic repulsion. You have to see it to believe it.



From what I understand, the trick works by taking advantage of an unstable equilibrium point in the combined magnetic field that is above the bottom plate. Normally, this would mean that the disk would come crashing down after a while, but the bottom plate further compensates for this by having a feedback loop that controls a number of shim fields embedded in the plate.

Pretty amazing stuff, if you ask me.

Related articles

• Wafer-scale Device Probing is Now Possible in a 3D-controlled Magnetic Field (prweb.com)
• Quantum Levitation -- Very Cool Science (futuretwit.com)
• The Advent Calendar of Physics: Monopole! [Uncertain Principles] (scienceblogs.com)
• New Magnetic Fields Album, With Synths. Synths! (theawl.com)
• Study of switching behavior in differential dual spin valves reveals the role of interlayer couplings (physorg.com)
• Quantum levitation: the coolest kind! (freeassociates.wordpress.com)
• What layer of the earth is responsible for earths magnetism (wiki.answers.com)
• Levitation Device of the Day (geeks.thedailywh.at)
• New magnetic-field-sensitive alloy could find use in novel micromechanical devices (generef.com)

Quantum Levitation -- Very Cool Science

I found this video on Youtube a few days ago, and I thought that I would share it on my blog. Here, we have a super cool video of a superconductor levitating over a magnetic field.



The physics behind superconductors is pretty amazing. One of the interesting things though is that the circulation of the superconductor around the magnetic track is NOT without friction (if we define friction as the loss of energy to heat). Actually, inhomogeneity in the magnetic field of the track will create voltages as the superconductor passes through it, which will cause eddy currents to flow. These eddy currents will eventually dissipate themselves as heat, meaning that the orbit of the superconductor around the track will not last indefinitely (although it will last for a long time).

Related articles

• Superconductors + Flux Tubes = Levitating Frozen Puck (blogs.discovermagazine.com)
• Sorcery!: Levitating Quantum Superconductors (geekologie.com)
• Levitating superconductor floats within a magnetic field so you don't have to (video) (engadget.com)
• Quantum levitation: the coolest kind! (freeassociates.wordpress.com)
• Have you seen this??? (yaketyyakshaving.wordpress.com)