Levitation Discovered
August 7, 2007 by Lauren
You've seen it in books, TV, and movies for decades. One of the biggest tricks of every magician, and one of the trickiest problems for scientists to solve; levitation. Our intelligent scientists, as well as the ones who probably never sleep, have discovered the theory of levitation. In fact, these are the same guys that suggested the idea of an 'invisibility cloak' (Harry Potter, anyone?) is actually a possibility.
They've come across this breakthrough by harnessing the natural forces that would normally cause objects to be attracted to each other, or stick together (without adhesive). From there, this concept was reversed. The repelling result? You guessed it, levitation (AKA the Casimir force).
To reword it more simply, this force isn't gravity or electricity. It's all related to objects sticking together in the same way that a gecko can walk across a ceiling, like a “dry glue” effect. The Casimir force could be utilized as a big help, preventing tiny objects from sticking together. This, among other methods, makes it obvious why reversing the effect could be useful.
We are still a long way from the big tricks, such as levitating humans. However, scientists assure us it's quite possible and we just aren't there yet with the development. In the mean time, this could lead to micro-machines that run using levitating parts. Think, for example, of the tiny mechanical device that triggers your car's airbag to inflate. It all means a smoother, better experience in our technology; the one thing we can't get enough of.
"Micro or nano machines could run smoother and with less or no friction at all if one can manipulate the force,” explained Professor Ulf Leonhardt, one person behind the discoveries.
As always, I'm all for anything that leads to faster, smoother gadgets. This could improve safety as well. Probably most of all, though, it's pretty wicked cool. We've actually harnessed levitation, and that's hard to pass up. Check out this article for more.
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