Sci/Tech Physicists have 'solved' mystery of levitation

[The Helper]

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

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.

Physicists have 'solved' mystery of levitation

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Some cool stuff to know - we know the laws of physics are different when things are super small and super big - now we also know that materials exhibit different properties when subjected to extreme temp - either extreme cold or heat. Especially Magnets!

 

[13lade619]

magnets repel anything that has water, but it's extremely weak in normal sized magnets.

an extremely large magnet could 'levitate' organic things like frogs and fruit.
that's what i watched.

the article didnt really expose how dr philbin does it though...

 

[Prometheus]

Levitation?
Maybe an Ironman suit wouldn't be so impossibly hard to run and power now!
We just need a superhuge mini power source.

 

[dunpealx4]

wow, soon we will have cars that have no wheels. Vehicles that can float like in Star War. LOL!

 

[13lade619]

We just need a superhuge mini power source.

huge source of mini-power?

i think it should be "small source of huge power".

and yes, i agree this technology must be the first priority.

 

[Darthfett]

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2007/08/07/1998589.htm

It's just another article on the same thing, but I think it has more on it.

"Micro or nanomachines could run smoother and with less or no friction at all if one can manipulate the force," he says.
They should get some Jedi's to work for them.

"The Casimir force, which was discovered in 1948 but not measured precisely until 1997, can be seen in a gecko's ability to stick to a surface with just one toe."

"Instead of sticking together, parts of micromachinery would levitate."
... making production wear and tear negligible. I would wonder how they would get the energy supply to the levitating parts, though.

"Leonhardt stresses that this set-up would only be possible for tiny objects.

But he underlines that, although in principle it may one day be possible to levitate humans, that day is a long way off."
Too bad

Very interesting.

 

[Andyoyo]

I think the main limitations are balancing the unit above the magnet & controlling the interaction between other levitation magnets. Can you imagine 2 magnets on the scale of being able to lift humans attracting & colliding with eachother, reminds me of Goku & Vegeta fusing with the earrings from DBZ

 

[The Helper]

I am not seeing a bunch of levitation except maybe with the maglev trains. I was hoping for the Jetsons life around now 16 years later.