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    • October 31, 2007

    78 protons

    — srikanth @ 9:57 am, GMT +0000 ( 1193824654 ) Play

    This question was handed in to us by Prasanth. What is going on here?

    Cracked by: udupendra , bs , Varun.M , sidsen , vaibhav008 , Biki , alephnull , yaksha , Tathagata Chatterjee , nihit , rajeshvj , C’na and Keerthi.

    Answer: This is a “Levitron” in action. Brand names aside, its a spin-stablized magnetic top. The magical floating being caused by repulsion between the like poles at the bottom of the top, and the top of the surface below the top (puns ahoy). The thing doesn’t flip over because the rotation keeps it upright on its vertical axis.


    14 Responses to “78 protons”

    1. udupendra
      4
      4
      7

      That's a Levitron – the 'Amazing Anti-gravity Top', and going by the title, probably the 'Deluxe Platinum' edition


    2. bs

      Magnetic Levitation. I think that's the omega levitron.


    3. Varun.M

      the object shown is the Levitron which works on the principle of
      "Spin stabilized magnetic levitation".


    4. sidsen
      2

      Spin stabilized magnetic levitation causing a levitron to levitate a spinning top.


    5. vaibhav008

      Demo of a platinum levitron top, that levitates bcoz of the magnetic base. Pretty cool stuff.


    6. Biki
      1

      Platinum Levitron Top


    7. alephnull

      Not too sure what you are looking for here. That is the Levitron. There are many articles about it but the principle can be succintly described as spin stabilised magnetic levitation.

      However, I don't get what Platinum has to do with this.


    8. yaksha
      1
      3

      LEVITRON® – The Amazing Anti-Gravity Top


    9. Tathagata Chatterjee
      1

      Demonstration of Levitron- the best new science toy in a generation- declared by members of the American association of Physics Teacher. The Levitron floats free on space for minutes at a time, supported only by the repelling magnetic force produced by magnets ( One permanently fixed in the base and one inside the top). The top spins stable in the range from about 20 to 35 revolutions per second (rps). It is completely unstable above 35-40 rps and below 18 rps. After the top is spun and levitated, it slows down because of air resistance. After a few minutes it reaches the lower stability limit (18 rps) and falls.
      Similar effect can be achieved with a superconducting disk to demonstrate the Meissner Effect.
      Regards,
      Tathagata Chatterjee


    10. nihit
      1

      Levitation of Platinum using Levitron…


    11. rajeshvj
      1

      A levitron top in action.


    12. C'na

      Levitron


    13. Keerthi

      Spin stabilized magnetic levitation used by the Toy (Levitron – http://www.levitron.com).
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levitron


    14. I’d like to order one point for this question please!


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