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Physicists have 'solved' mystery of levitation


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"Levitation has been elevated from being pure science fiction to science fact, according to a study reported today by physicists.

In theory the discovery could be used to levitate a person

In earlier work the same team of theoretical physicists showed that invisibility cloaks are feasible.

Now, in another report that sounds like it comes out of the pages of a Harry Potter book, the University of St Andrews team has created an 'incredible levitation effects’ by engineering the force of nature which normally causes objects to stick together.

Professor Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin, from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, have worked out a way of reversing this pheneomenon, known as the Casimir force, so that it repels instead of attracts."
lemonsun12

9 responses // Physicists have 'solved' mystery of levitation

  • Isn't that just electromagnetism?
    ivxx
  • uhhh, this isnt real...
    crapfry
  • I think that would fall under some kind of electromagnetic radiation, but this is awesome none the less.
    Dmitri_Molotov
  • My science teacher showed this trick, though he had to use an electromagnet, he used to hide it in the draw underneath the desk, put the magnetic spinning top on a cradle above the desk untill it was reppeled by the magnet, spin it then lower the cradle down, the spinning motion kept the magnetic forces even, whilst the gravity of the top was balanced by the electromagnetic repulsion.
    he used to do this without showing the class the magnet in the desk and it would appear that the top levitated on its own.
    the device in the picture probably uses more sophisticated technology, but levetation has been around, magnetism is normally used, and a strawberry can be levitated within a strong enough electromagnet :P (experement tried in swiss laborotory)
    edit: wikied 'Casimir force' and found that this is not electromagnatism, but quantum physics. so yes more sophisticated, and also means this levitation can be produced without an energy source
    Lite_Black
  • Wow anti gravity and force fields in one package discovery ... that's great & fascinating, Thanks
    Enjoy_Cannabis
  • Next...time travel...!
    StrangeConversation
  • cool, they can use it to levitate george bush and friends up out of the white house?
    Betico
  • http://blog.makezine.com/gyroscope-on-nail-green-backdr...
    This was one of my fave toys when I was child.
    Purdey
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect
    Hey, it's a wikipedia page I don't understand!
    CarlosIsDown

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