A levitating frog scooped anIg Nobel awardback in the yr 2000 in celebration of a group of scientist , led by Dr Andre Geim , who harnessed diamagnetism to make the anuran ( alongside a cricket and some plants ) float in mid - air . Years later , Geim depart on to gain theNobel prizefor his work with graphene , but enough of that . Let ’s verbalise about floating toad frog .
Everything is at least a little morsel magnetised . That ’s an important conception to grasp before we move on , as it ’s crucial in understanding how diamagnetism could lift a frog ( and , theoretically , a human ) off of the ground .
metal like iron and cobalt incline to leap to mind when we think of magnetic objects – with good reason , as they exhibit inviolable magnetism . However , everything has a magnetized field . Some are just stronger than others .
As atoms and negatron soar up around each other , they make a theatre of operations that ( when placed in , say , one of the hard electromagnet in the world ) can drive against opposing forces . It ’s a quantum mechanical upshot known as diamagnetism that can occur with any physical object : populate or inanimate , frog or cricket .
Geim and colleagues put this possibility to the test in1997as they belt down a toad frog into thethroat of a high field magnet , and – surprise , surprise – the amphibious vehicle took to the aura like a floating deity .
In case you ’re worried about the float frog and its fellow participants , you ’ll be glad to know the experiment had no negative side personal effects on its hold up subject area . Outside of making celebrities out of amphibians , diamagnetic levitation has applications in industry and research , include the effects of zero gravity as float dwell things here on Earth is cheaper than sending them out into blank space .
As for levitate a human , an insightfulYouTube video from SciShowestimates that it is possible , but the space limitations ( about the size of it of a bagel ) mean most machine do n’t have the way . Scientists are still work with the technology though , including improving our agreement of drugs bymaking electric cell levitate .
Still have dream of lifting off ? You could always try thisflying machine , or if that does n’t be adrift your boat , how about ahoverboard ?
