STS Individual Project
Carl Adrian P. Roma
2013-13861
THY
Rising with Magnets
Super heroes and their special
powers have never ceased to amaze us. Young, old, or young-at-heart, everyone
has their own super hero and/or super villain (for those with a darker side)
who have enraptured our imagination. One famous super power is something that
most of us dream to possess, levitation. Psychic powers, powers to control the
elements, force field projection, and subatomic manipulation; these are but
just some of the ways our beloved heroes and villains defy the clutches of
gravity. Unfortunately for us, all these seem to need a really big stretch of
reality to even be considered plausible, much less feasible. So does this mean
we can no longer float in midair like our idols in the big screen? Is all hope
lost? The answer is no! Thanks to modern science, there is but one way that we
mere “ordinary” people can defy gravity. That’s right; it’s Magnetic Levitation
or MagLev for short.
Magnetic levitation, put simply, is
the phenomenon wherein an object, or sometimes an organism, is suspended with
no other force other than magnetic fields acting upon it. Yes, you heard right;
magnets are strong enough to make you fly. But wait! Before you go strap
magnets to yourself, let me explain the basics of magnetic levitation.
First of all, there are a lot of different
methods involving the concept of magnetic levitation but we’ll focus on the two
that are the most understandable and the most realistic, through the use of superconductors
and electromagnets and the through diamagnetism.
The use
of superconductors and electromagnets is one of the most popular ways to
achieve magnetic levitation. Superconductors are materials that are capable of
conducting electricity with absolutely no resistance. This simply means that
superconductors do not allow magnetic fields to pass through themselves thus
making them “float” on the magnetic field surrounding them. This video explains the mechanics
of superconductors in further detail. Because of this property, superconductor
technology would make for great ways of cheap transportation due to their non-reliance
on other fuel sources. Unfortunately, these types of modern day superconductors
have to be in extremely low temperatures in order to become superconductive
making these superconductors very hard to create and maintain.
Fortunately, there are other kinds
of superconductors that are feasible with our current technology; in fact, they’re
already in use today. Instead of relying on super-low temperatures, these
superconductors rely on electromagnetism and the repulsion of two electromagnets
to enable magnetic levitation. The mechanics of this technology is further
explained by this short
video. This technology involves two sets of electromagnets that repel each
other causing one to levitate atop the other. We can actually see this
technology being used today in other countries like Japan and Germany in the
form of the famous MagLev trains. These specialized trains use the concept of
magnetic levitation to move at extremely high speeds. By floating mere inches
over an electromagnetic track, the MagLev propels itself by a series of waves
of magnetic energy produced by electrical generators in the track. This makes
the train run smoother, quieter, and faster than other wheeled transport
systems and because it doesn’t touch the track, it is mostly unaffected by
weather. Another application of this great concept is in amusement park rides.
Have you ridden one of those “tower drop” rides in popular amusement parks?
Yes? Then there’s a high chance that your safety depended on the power of
magnets. Most rides like these need a fail-safe way of bringing the ride to a
stop, lest you become an ugly spot on the pavement, so they use a specialized
magnetic braking system which solely relies on magnetic induction. This means
that they’ll still work even in the most unfortunate of events such as a power
outage so you can keep calm and ride all you want.
Now comes the fun part, I’m going to explain
how you can experience zero gravity by just staying on the ground. It’s
possible through diamagnetism as shown in this video . Put simply, a
strong magnetic field around any object will cause that objects electrons to
change course thus creating an opposing magnetic field. This force is pretty
weak but, with a strong enough magnetic field, any diamagnetic object will be
able to levitate. Water is an example of a diamagnetic material and thus can be
levitated with a strong enough magnetic field. Researchers at the High Field
Magnet Laboratory of Radboud University Nijmegen have successfully levitated a
live frog using diamagnetism. Based on the principle of this kind of magnetism,
humans can actually be levitated but the magnetic fields required for this
would be enormous as well as extremely strong. This means that it is possible
for humans to levitate but, sadly, it isn’t possible with the technology we
have to date.
The
technology of magnets may not be applicable for human levitation but that doesn’t
mean that it’s unusable. In fact, the technologies mentioned before are
actually being used in today’s world. The MagLev train transportation system is
a developing technology as of date and is constantly being improved to be able
to replace other obsolete transportation systems in the world. Electromagnets
and superconductors are used in different fields of science such as medicine in
the form of MRI scanners. Finally, constant research on superconductors and
magnets is opening new doors t oother applications of this great technology,
such as more efficient power generation, new treatments for the medical field
and the list goes on.
Our
dreams of levitating at our own will may not be realized today, but the future
still holds many possibilities. With the rate of progress of science and
technology in today’s modern world and the eager minds of those who push the
boundaries of knowledge to the limit each day, it’s only a matter of time
before a breakthrough is reached that will change everything. It may be the
discovery of a room-temperature superconductor that would make spontaneous
levitation possible, a new kind of magnetic levitation concept, or a way of
producing an immense magnetic field, no one knows for sure. So, it’s not
certain when you’ll get to levitate like your favorite hero but you can be sure
that when that time comes, the world will be a different place.
References:
minutephysics, 2013. Magnetic Levitation. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqKeiiezqzc
9 March 2014
Radboud University Nijmegen Faculty of Science, 2014.
Levitation. Retrieved from: http://www.ru.nl/hfml/research/levitation/
9 March 2014
robochitti, 2011. How Maglev Trains Work. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaElPV0FWJ0
9 March 2014
Travis, 1999. What Is A Superconductor? Retrieved from:
The Institut de Physique du CNRS, The Société Française de Physique et sa section Paris-Sud, The
Réseau thématique de recherche avancée « Triangle de la Physique,
2011. All About Superconductors. Retrieved from: http://www.supraconductivite.fr/en/index.php
9 March 2014
WOWLab, 2008. The Awesome Levitating Train.
Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHtAwQXVsuk
9 March 2014
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