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Quantum Levitation

Association of Science and Technology Centers0 HN recommenders · 2012–2023
11.3M views · demo · evergreen · Uploaded 2011-10-16

A short demo from Tel-Aviv University of a superconductor locked in a magnetic field, hovering and staying fixed in place. It was shown at the 2011 ASTC conference.

Linked in superconductivity and levitation threads as the canonical quantum locking demo.

Everyday physics & science demosMaterials science

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7 comments from Hacker News

@pwang2012 · in “ZeroN system holds a ball wherever you place it, in mid-air”

Oh, they do this with classical electromagnets and computer vision. Lame. I thought this was going to be a quantum spin locking demo at large distances (>10cm): [VIDEO]

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@lutze2012 · in “Room Temperature Superconductivity Found in Graphite Grains”

Since everyone is talking about power transmission like a bunch of boring old farts, I'll just leave this here: [VIDEO]

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@xauronx2014 · in “HUVr Board”

I'm sure you've seen this, but I was REALLY hoping the video was some kind of large scale riff on this: [VIDEO] Related: [LINK] And more awesome: [LINK] It's already 3 years old, so I'm waiting for people to use this technology or an extension of it for something cool.

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@jonmrodriguez2016 · in “How to Investigate a Flying Saucer”

I feel like part of the cultural fascination with flying saucers is that we intuitively feel like it should be possible for someone with advanced technology to levitate without expending power. We are starting to get there, with quantum locking, which can levitate a type-II superconductor relative to a supporting magnetic field. [VIDEO] [LINK] I wonder if it would be physically possible to utilize the Earth's extremely weak magnetic field to support any meaningful mass?

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@sxp2020 · in “Earnshaw's Theorem”

The other interesting loophole is [LINK] which gives you levitating superconductors and (impractical) hovercars: [VIDEO]

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@trgern2023 · in “Room Temperature, Ambient Pressure Superconductivity–This Time for Real?”

The video of “levitation” is one of the things that makes me, a complete ignoramus of the subject matter, skeptical. [LINK] All other instances of “quantum levitation” that I have seen has a “locked in” effect: [VIDEO] . Whereas the material in this video seems to bounce and warble in a way that appears to me more akin to standard static or magnetic repulsion. Hope I’m wrong.

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@uyhgr2023 · in “LK99: Team of Southeast University observed zero resistance below 110 K”

Correct, the imperfections of the crystal allowing the flux pinning permits even a “hanging levitation”. Here is a timestamped video showing that: [VIDEO] If we develop methods of creating these superconductors with perfect crystal composition then there will only be the repulsion, allowing for levitation in a bowl shaped superconductor, but this “hanging levitation” would be impossible. Perhaps we will develop manufacturing techniques to induce specific imperfections into the material to ensure predictable flux pinning.

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