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Reversing the Casimir Force for Levitation

Newspaper current event by VnutZ on 07 November 2007, tagged as physics and science

The same researchers that introduced the partial invisibility cloak are back in the news with the prospect of levitation. On his webpage, Ulf Leonhardt describes his goal that, "It is possible to turn the Casimir force from attraction to repulsion and to use it for levitating mirrors on, literally, nothing." The Casimir Force is a very subtle property whereupon two objects exert an attractive force upon one another due to vacuum fluctuations and energy carried in fields. Using a special lens, Leonhardt's team is able to reverse the Casimir Force in such a way as to create basic levitation. The technology can be used to create frictionless components and is hoped to improve performance of nanotechnology machines that suffer from "sticking."

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Death Ray by VnutZ :: NR8

You know ... when I hear scientists talk about breaking down the quantum bonds that hold atoms together, all I can think about is a disintegration ray where humans, tanks and backyard squirrels just fall apart like a stack of marbles.

Posted 07 November 2007, Hide, Reply