Idea of having magnet float

[Bearcracks]

I had the idea of putting a bunch of magnets around a small ball, all having the same charge facing outwards, and putting it in a bowl lined with magnets with the same pole facing inward toward the ball.  Would this make the ball float? If not why?

[nanotech]

It would probably work, but me personally am drooling at the corners of my mouth thinking about someone using magnets in such a way when I'm desperately trying to gather enough together to make more than a single phase 2 volt alternator!!  :p

[Chagrin]

Magnetic levitation is by no means simple. I can only think of a single person that ever achieved a similar "toy" that could be reliably built.

[DanB]

It's a bit off topic for this forum but I'll bite.

The answer is... no - it wont float.  It'll either fall out of the bowl, or it'll stick to the inside, depending on how strong your magnets are.

Why?

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Levitation/levitation.html

http://wondermagnet.com/newmaglev.html

[pyrocasto]

I've never done any experiments or whatnot with it, but I kinda figured it would work. I guess it wont, but I still dont completely understand why completely. :-|

[dalibor]

try to find on the web about nikola tesla.

there is something similar in his museum here in belgrade.

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

That is annoying:  A simple proof that no stable (including when stalled) bearing is possible using just magnets.  You can get some support.  But you can't keep it in place with magnets alone.

But you can use magnets to levitate something diamagnetic.  Diamagnetic materials are weak, but you can get strong diamagnetism from a superconductor, or a strong pseudo-diamagnetism from a normal conductor versus a moving/varying field (with eddy current losses in the latter).  So THAT's why we never see news of magnetic bearing designs being attempted unless they involve superconductors.

But you can get SOME control and support - just not six-degrees-of-freedom stability - from magnets alone.  And with gyroscopic forces to keep a magnet from flipping end-for-end you can make it stable as long as it keeps spinning.  Those imply you might be able to do something for a rotor that involves a mechanical bearing when stopped or turning slowly, then a "lift off" at speed.

So all is not lost.  B-)

[maker of toys]

look up maglev turbomolecular drag pump.  Mitsubishi makes some nice ones. . .

so do Leybold, Pfieffer, <sp?> Alcatel and a few others.  We like ours- practically no maintainence.  the levitation is provided by a powered solenoid, but no superconductors in sight.

And, of course, inductrak maglev, using halbach arrays; but that's a specical case using the motion of the magnet to induce a field.