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Levitation (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 levitas "lightness") is the process by which an object is suspended against gravity, in a stable position, without physical contact.

It is also a conjuring trick, appearingly raising a human being (or other object) without any physical aid.






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Magnet 4
Frog Diamagnetic Levitation
Levitation (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 levitas "lightness") is the process by which an object is suspended against gravity, in a stable position, without physical contact.

It is also a conjuring trick, appearingly raising a human being (or other object) without any physical aid. The illusion
Magic (illusion)

Magic is a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats, using purely natural means....
 can be produced by clever mechanics
Mechanics

Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behaviour of physical body when subjected to forces or Displacement , and the subsequent effect of the bodies on their environment....
, lighting arrangements and other means.

Physics

For levitation on Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
, first, a force is required directed vertically upwards and equal to the gravitational force, second, for any small displacement of the levitating object, a returning force should appear to stabilize it. The stable levitation can be naturally achieved by, for example magnetic
Magnetic levitation

Magnetic levitation, maglev, or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is levitation with no support other than magnetic fields....
 or aerodynamic forces. With the former, it is essential that diamagnetic elements are used. In this case the returning force appears from the interaction with the screening currents. For example, a superconducting
Superconductivity

Superconductivity is a phenomenon occurring in certain materials generally at very low temperatures, characterized by exactly zero electrical resistance and the exclusion of the interior magnetic field ....
 sample, which can be considered either as a perfect diamagnet or an ideally hard superconductor
Ideally hard superconductor

An ideally hard superconductor is a type II superconductor material with an infinite pinning force . In the external magnetic field it behaves like an ideal diamagnet if the field is switched on when the material is in the superconducting state, so-called "zero field cooled" regime....
, easily levitates an ambient external magnetic field. In very strong magnetic field, by means of diamagnetic levitation even small live animals have been levitated.

By means of aerodynamic forces, the effect of levitation can also be achieved using the upthrust of air, with the levitating object having the same average density as air.

Scientists have discovered a way of levitating ultra small objects by manipulating the so-called Casimir force, which normally causes objects to stick together by quantum force. This practice however, is only possible for micro-objects.

Further reading

esp. the section on levitation in the chapter on electromagnetism
Electromagnetism

Electromagnetism is the physics of the electromagnetic field, a field which exerts a force on Elementary particles with the property of electric charge and which is reciprocally affected by the presence and motion of such particles....
. .

See also

  • Types of physical levitation:
    • Acoustic levitation
      Acoustic levitation

      Acoustic levitation is a method for suspending matter in a medium by using acoustic radiation pressure from intense sound waves in the medium. Acoustic levitation is possible because of the non-linear effects of intense sound waves....
    • Aerodynamic levitation
      Aerodynamic levitation

      Aerodynamic levitation is the use of gas pressure to levitate materials so that they are no longer in physical contact with any container. In scientific experiments this removes contamination and nucleation issues associated with physical contact with a container....
    • Electrostatic levitation
      Electrostatic levitation

      Electrostatic levitation is the process of using an electric field to lift a electric charge object and counteract the effects of gravity. It was used, for instance, in Robert Millikan's oil drop experiment and is used to suspend the gyroscopes in Gravity Probe B during launch....
    • Magnetic levitation
      Magnetic levitation

      Magnetic levitation, maglev, or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is levitation with no support other than magnetic fields....
    • Optical levitation
      Optical levitation

      Optical levitation is a method developed by Arthur Ashkin whereby a material is levitation against the downward force of gravity by an upward force stemming from photon momentum transfer....
  • Anti-gravity
    Anti-gravity

    Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to countering the gravitational force by an opposing force of a different nature, as a helium balloon does; instead, anti-gravity requires that the fundamental causes of the force of gravity be made either not present or not applic...
  • Flying Saints
    Saints and levitation

    There are numerous saints to whom the ability to flight or levitation has been attributed. Most of these flying saints are mentioned as such in literature and sources associated with them....
  • Illusion
    Illusion

    An illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people....
    s
  • Laputa
    Laputa

    Laputa is a Fictional country from the book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.Laputa is a fictional flying island or rock with an adamantine base, that can be maneuvered by its inhabitants in any direction using magnetic levitation....
  • Balducci levitation
    Balducci levitation

    The Balducci levitation is a levitation illusion that was first described by Ed Balducci. Its inventor is unknown. It is an impromptu magic , which has been popularized by many magicians, such as David Roth, Paul Harris , Alex Magic, and David Blaine....
  • Sooperman
    Sooperman

    Looy's Sooperman is a levitation illusion created by Looy Simonoff. It is a variation of the Balducci levitation. The effect is currently being sold under the name Wild Levitation....
  • King levitation
    King levitation

    The King Rising Levitation is a levitation illusion developed by and named after Corey King. Some consider it to be a variation of the Balducci levitation....
  • Party Levitation
    Light as a feather, stiff as a board

    Light as a feather, stiff as a board, sometimes known as party levitation, is a game played by children at slumber party. The phrase has also become established in popular culture as a reference to a levitation trick, and has been referred to in various media accounts....
  • Levitation (paranormal)
  • Weightlessness
    Weightlessness

    Weightlessness is a phenomenon experienced by people during free-fall. Although the term #Zero gravity is often used as a synonym, weightlessness in orbit is not the result of the force of gravity being eliminated or even significantly reduced ....
  • Shoko Asahara
    Shoko Asahara

    is a founder of Japan's controversial Buddhist religious group Aum Shinrikyo . Asahara has been convicted of masterminding the 1995 Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway and several other crimes, and has been sentenced to death....