What is quantum levitation?
We thought the best way for you to understand what is quantum levitation is to watch the video behind us.
As you can see the disc seems floating above the surface but it is actually locked above the surface, it’s a bit different.
It position can be adjusted and it’ll stay where ever you put it. You can lock it with different high different configuration.
It also can be locked in the opposite way.
How does it work?
It works thanks to 2 things : a super conductor and a permanent magnet.
The super conductor is a single crystal sapphire wafer coats with a thin ceramic material.
The ceramic layer has no interesting magnetic or electrical properties at room temperature. However, when cooled below -185ºC) the material becomes a superconductor. It conducts electricity without resistance, with no energy loss. Zero !
Superconductivity and magnetic field do not like each other. When possible, the superconductor will expel all the magnetic field from inside. This is the Meissner effect.
In our case, since the superconductor is extremely thin and cooled with liquid nitrogen., the magnetic field DOES penetrate. However, it does that in small quantities called flux tubes.
Superconductor at room temperature Superconductor at -185°C
Inside each magnetic flux tube superconductivity is locally destroyed. The superconductor will try to keep the magnetic tubes immobilsed in weak areas (e.g. grain boundaries). Any spatial movement of the superconductor will cause the flux tubes to move. In order to prevent that the superconductor remains “trapped” in midair.
