Ram had said that no matter how many times you see it, the Meissner effect is miraculous. Today, we made a breakthrough in our progress, and the sight of it shocked everyone who saw it.
After a series of trial and error approaches to making a track of magnets that could levitate a superconductor pellet as well as be a useful path for the superconductor to move across, we finally saw patterns and got systematic about things. The following is an outline of our thought process and how we got here.
We
found that only two sides of the magnet would levitate a superconductor. The other four would not. We marked these sides with a dot, and they correspond to the poles of the magnet. Also, we found certain orientations of four magnets that could levitate a superconductor with high stability. Other combinations of four magnets provided no stability. The superconductors were just bounced off.
Also, we noticed that when a set of magnets that would not hold a superconductor steady were placed in series, on a few occasions the superconductor would move independently down the "track" as if propelled. This was not a controllable process, but there were times when it would move down the middle of the track with moderate stability. We figured that there must be something about those orientations resulted in the magnetic field lines causing the superconductor to move.
We
found that only two sides of the magnet would levitate a superconductor. The other four would not. We marked these sides with a dot, and they correspond to the poles of the magnet. Also, we found certain orientations of four magnets that could levitate a superconductor with high stability. Other combinations of four magnets provided no stability. The superconductors were just bounced off.Also, we noticed that when a set of magnets that would not hold a superconductor steady were placed in series, on a few occasions the superconductor would move independently down the "track" as if propelled. This was not a controllable process, but there were times when it would move down the middle of the track with moderate stability. We figured that there must be something about those orientations resulted in the magnetic field lines causing the superconductor to move.
After several trials and more than several errors, the lack of consistent results was frustrating. We got a quick lesson on magnetic field lines from our mentor, Brent, and decided that we should codify the individual magnets to determine which of the levitating sides were the north and south poles. Although slightly monotonous, this was a key step in the miracle alluded to at the beginning of this post.
To determine the poles of the magnets, we used compasses. A quick anecdote on obtaining a compass:
I needed to buy a compass in order to determine the poles. My wife suggested Target, so that was where we went. When I started to walk toward the camping and sporting goods section, she said that we should try the party section first. Incredulous, but not being a complete contrarion, I went along not expecting much. The first thing we saw when we got there was a set of four compasses. Presumably, if you want to throw your child a pirate themed party, a compass is the way to go. So I bought a set of four for $2.39. I decided I wouldn't doubt my wife for a while.
On Friday, 6/27, we spent a fair amount of time determining the poles of magnets. The track was created to be two magnets wide, with the magnets on each side of the track having the same polarity. This proved to be a working track that would maintain levitation, and if given an initial push, the magnet would move down the track. However, it was unstable, and any left-right motion would bounce the superconductor off its course.
About mid-day, one of our mentors, Josh, had an idea. He started to add a third row of magnets to the track. The alignment of the rows alternated S-N-S. This produced astonishing results. The levitation was stable, and when propelled by an initial push, the superconductor would move down the middle of the track.
I needed to buy a compass in order to determine the poles. My wife suggested Target, so that was where we went. When I started to walk toward the camping and sporting goods section, she said that we should try the party section first. Incredulous, but not being a complete contrarion, I went along not expecting much. The first thing we saw when we got there was a set of four compasses. Presumably, if you want to throw your child a pirate themed party, a compass is the way to go. So I bought a set of four for $2.39. I decided I wouldn't doubt my wife for a while.
On Friday, 6/27, we spent a fair amount of time determining the poles of magnets. The track was created to be two magnets wide, with the magnets on each side of the track having the same polarity. This proved to be a working track that would maintain levitation, and if given an initial push, the magnet would move down the track. However, it was unstable, and any left-right motion would bounce the superconductor off its course.
About mid-day, one of our mentors, Josh, had an idea. He started to add a third row of magnets to the track. The alignment of the rows alternated S-N-S. This produced astonishing results. The levitation was stable, and when propelled by an initial push, the superconductor would move down the middle of the track. The levitation and movement was so astonishing that the first time we saw it, everyone in the room gasped. This all happened last on 6/26-6/27. After several days of frustratingly slow progress, seeing the stable levitation was quite encouraging and I am hopeful that we can accomplish our goal. We'll see.
In the video, you can see the pellet stop. The length of the track has a consistent S-N-S arrangement across its width. At the end, the orientati0n was changed to be N-S-N. That alternative causes a stop in the movement. We have gone through some thinking about the field lines that is causing it, but we're not entirely sure.
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