Last time I was in Germany at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, I saw a steel ball about 1 inch in diameter suspended in a magnetic field. The electro magnet would come on full force and as the ball rose, it would interrupt a light beam causing the magnet to switch off. Very simple. Very power hungry. At 01:38 AM 10/2/99 -0300, you wrote: >Where can I get more info about this? > >Russell McMahon wrote: > > > >There is also a device where a bar/cylinder magnet sits in a magnetic well > > >created by powerful magnets on either side. A long horizontal wire at one > > >end provides lateral stability. This is easy to build and it's a pretty > > >cool desktop toy. The suspended magnet bobbles around a little in response > > >to environmental vibration etc. > > > > > >Seems like it should be possible to replace the wire with > electromagnets at > > >each end in a feedback loop. Might try it some day. > > > > This is exactly the same as the device which I described (but a much more > > understandable description:-)) EXCEPT that in my device the horizontal wire > > was replaced by a pointed wooden dowel with the point resting on a mirror. > > Very impressive visually. > > > > The idea of using electromagnets to control the horizontal dynamic > stability > > sounds an excellent one. This should be much easier and require lower power > > dynamic fields than the normal dynamic vertical levitators. > > > > Russell McMahon > > _____________________________ > > > > >From another world - www.easttimor.com > > Not for the overly squeamish! > > > > What can one man* do? > > Help the hungry at no cost to yourself! > > at http://www.thehungersite.com/ > > > > (* - or woman, child or internet enabled intelligent entity :-)) Wes kd4rdb@usa.net Stupidity should be painful ________________________________________________________ NetZero - We believe in a FREE Internet. Shouldn't you? Get your FREE Internet Access and Email at http://www.netzero.net/download/index.html