Superconductors and Magnetic Levitation

Edwin Ogachi
Dept. of Physics and Optical Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC

Introduction
Superconductivity is an occurrence that happens to elements and ceramics.
When these materials are cooled to temperatures ranging from zero degrees Kelvin to
seventy-seven degrees Kelvin, their electrical resistance drops down to zero [1]. The
materials with zero resistance can then have a wide range of practical use including
magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic shielding, energy storage, magnetically levitated
vehicles and etc. Magnetic levitated vehicles make use of the Meissner effect [2]. The
Meissner effect is when a material makes the change from the normal to
superconducting state, it actively rejects all magnetic fields from its interior. The
Meissner effect in superconductors acts to exclude magnetic fields from the material.
Because the electrical resistance is zero, super currents are made in the material to
reject the magnetic fields from a magnet closer to it. The currents which cancel the
external field yield magnetic poles which mirror the poles of the stable magnet, repelling
them to provide the lift to levitate the magnet.
Figure 1

Figure 1. Demonstrates what occurs as a superconductor is placed into a magnetic

field. After the temperature is lowered to below the critical temperature, the
superconductor will push the field out of itself. This is done by creating surface currents
in itself which produces a magnetic field exactly countering the external field, producing
a magnetic mirror [4].
Because levitating currents in superconductors meet no resistance, they can adjust
almost immediately to maintain levitation. The levitated magnet can be moved, spun
and put into oscillation while the currents adjust to keep it suspended above the
permanent magnet [2, 3].
There are two types of superconductors, Type 1 and Type 2. Pure samples of
lead, mercury and tin are example of Type 1 while Type 2 superconductors are mainly
composed of metallic alloys and compounds with the exceptions of elements
technetium, niobium and vanadium.
Figure 3

Figure 2

Figure 2. A graph of induced magnetic field of a Type I superconductor versus applied

field. The graph shows that when an external magnetic field is applied to a Type I
superconductor the induced magnetic field exactly cancels that applied field until there
is an abrupt change from the superconducting state to the normal state [4].
Figure 3. Is a graph of induced magnetic field of a Type II superconductor versus
applied field. The graph shows a Type II superconductor in an increasing magnetic field.
Methods
It is possible to levitate superconductors and other diamagnetic materials that
magnetize in the opposite sense to a magnetic field in which they are placed. This is
also used in maglev trains. It has become commonplace to see the new high
temperature superconducting materials levitated in this way. A superconductor is
perfectly diamagnetic, which means it expels a magnetic field. Other diamagnetic
materials are commonplace and can also be levitated in a magnetic field if it is strong
enough.
Oscillating magnetic field will make an alternating current in a conductor and
therefore generate a levitating force. A similar effect can be achieved with a suitably cut
rotating disc. The oscillating field is a way of making a diamagnet of a conducting body.
Due to a limited resistance, the induced changes in electron trajectories disappear after
a short time, but you can create a permanent screening current at the surface by
applying an oscillating field, and conducting bodies behave just like superconducting
bodies.

Surprisingly, it is possible to levitate a rotating object with fixed magnets. The

spinning top can levitate delicately above a base with a careful arrangement of magnets
so long as its rotation speed and height remains within certain limits. This solution is
particularly clever because it only uses permanent magnets. Ceramic materials are
used to prevent induced currents that would dissipate the rotational energy. [6, 7, 8].
Results
A small rare-earth magnet is suspended above a yttrium based superconductor
when the Magnetic field is actively excluded from the superconductor, Meissner
effect.The tiny magnet can be caused to spin by tapping it with a small instrument such
as the tip of tweezers. Even though the magnet is continuously suspended, this
rotational motion is damped. The rotation will slow down and it will go into a rocking
mode and finally come to rest.
The magnet is suspended over the superconductor by immersing the superconducting
disc in liquid nitrogen. The induced currents in the superconductor mirror the poles of
the magnet and adjust so quickly that the magnet can be translated or rotated and
remain suspended.
Figure 4

Figure 4. Shows the Angular displacement of the magnet suspended over the
superconductors, over a period of 3.5 seconds. The equation below is a damped sine
wave of oscillation motion the levitated magnet.
( t ) =et sin ( t)
The equation above gives a damping coefficient of 0.247. This number was obtained by
doing a least-squares fit of the peaks of the damped oscillation. Closer examination
reveals that the period of the damped motion is changing, as illustrated below.
Figure 5
The period of the damped motion clearly decreased with time, decreasing from about
0.68 to 0.55 s in about 3 seconds. The data plotted at left was based on the peak
measurements and no extrapolation was
done, so the data is rather rough. The
decrease in period appears to be almost
linear with time if the oscillations in the period are taken to be measurement artifacts

.
References
1. Wheeler, Francisca, And Peter Peter Freilinger.
"SUPERCONDUCTIVITY." SUPERCONDUCTIVITY. CERN, 2001. Web. 20 Nov.
2014.
2. Rohlf, James William. "Chapter 15." Modern Physics From To Z. New York: John
Wiley, 1994. N. Pag. Print.
3. Dave, Carl R. "Levitation Currents." Magnetic Levitation. Hyperphysics, 2012.
Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
4. "Fundamentals Of Superconductors." Guide To Superconductivity. Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, 04 Jan. 1996. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
5. Gibbs, Phillip, And Andre Giem. "Is Magnetic Levitation Possible?" Magnetic
Levitation. The Physics And Relativity FAQ, Mar. 1997. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
6. W. Braunbeck, "Free Suspension Of Bodies In Electric And Magnetic Fields",
Zeitschrift Fr Physik, 112, 11, 753763 (1939)
7. E.H. Brandt, "Theory Catches Up With Flying Frog", Physics World, 10, 23, Sept
1997
8. E.H. Brandt, Science, 243, 349, Jan 1989.