This is some cool sh!t. Back in 2012, the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) shared footage of a quantum levitation project they were working on, using WipE’out” as inspiration.
What is quantum levitation?
Quantum levitation is a technique that uses allows a superconductor to hover over a magnetic source. The quantum aspect comes from properties of quantum mechanics which facilitate the levitation, notably the Meissner effect and super currents.
I love that they used WipE’out” to demonstrate the phenomenon. Alas, if this became a Thing, it’d be in the distant future as it would require very powerful magnetic fields and the superconductors to work with it. We’ll just have to settle for those Japanese bullet trains for now.
Filed under: Japan quantum physics video