Scientists levitate heavy objects

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neutron_p - 23 May 2005 21:59 GMT

This might sound like a science fiction, but Nottingham scientists can
control the amount of gravity a body experiences. They have recently
demonstrated for the first time how mixtures of oxygen and nitrogen in
the liquid and gaseous states provide sufficient buoyancy to levitate a
wide variety of objects including diamonds, a =A31 coin, and heavy
metals such as gold, silver, lead and platinum. They used liquid oxygen
to increase the buoyancy created by a specially designed
superconducting magnet.

Read the story here: http://www.physorg.com/news4059.html
There are a few pictures available:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppxatc/levitation/Flotation.html

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Uncle Al - 26 May 2005 20:01 GMT

> This might sound like a science fiction, but Nottingham scientists can
> control the amount of gravity a body experiences.

[snip hopeless muddle]

> Read the story here: http://www.physorg.com/news4059.html
> There are a few pictures available:
> http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppxatc/levitation/Flotation.html

It was diamagnetic levitation enhanced by density increase of
paramagnetic oxygen in the magnet's bore.

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ebunn@lfa221051.richmond.edu - 26 May 2005 20:04 GMT

>This might sound like a science fiction, but Nottingham scientists can
>control the amount of gravity a body experiences.

This is not an accurate description. It makes the result sound much
more exotic and science-fictiony than it is. They've found a better
way to do magnetic levitation -- that is, to use magnetic forces to
balance the force of gravity.

If you call applying another force to balance gravity "controlling the
amount of gravity," then my chair is controlling the amount of gravity
on me right now.

>Read the story here: http://www.physorg.com/news4059.html
>There are a few pictures available:
>http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppxatc/levitation/Flotation.html

-Ted

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[E-mail me at name@domain.edu, as opposed to name@machine.domain.edu.]

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Natural Science Forum / Physics / Research / May 2005

Scientists levitate heavy objects