Levitation At Microscopic Scale Could Lead To Nanomechanical Devices Based On Quantum Levitation
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - 17:35
in Physics & Chemistry
Magicians have long created the illusion of levitating objects in the air. Now researchers have actually levitated an object, suspending it without the need for external support. Working at the molecular level, the researchers relied on the tendency of certain combinations of molecules to repel each other at close contact, effectively suspending one surface above another by a microscopic distance. Researchers have measured, for the first time, a repulsive quantum mechanical force that could be harnessed and tailored for a wide range of new nanotechnology applications.