Spin-stabilized Magnetic Levitation

Spin-stabilized magnetic levitation is a phenomenon of magnetic levitation whereby a magnet is levitated via magnetic forces above another magnet or array of magnets, and stabilised by gyroscopic effect due to a spin that is neither too fast, nor too slow.

The phenomenon was originally discovered through invention by Vermont inventor Roy M. Harrigan in the late 1970s. Harrigan received a United States patent for his original levitation device based upon this phenomenon on May 3, 1983. A Pennsylvanian inventor named Joseph Chieffo, who was unaware of Harrigan's invention, made the same discovery in 1984 employing a flat base magnet, contrasting with Harrigan's dished base design. Chieffo's design, publicized in a 1991 edition of the periodical "MAGNETS IN YOUR FUTURE", further differed from Harrigan's in its incorporation of an un-weighted top. Harrigan's technology, either entirely or in conjunction with Chieffo's flat-base innovation, provided the basis for the development of the mass marketed levitating toy top sold under the brand name, 'Levitron'.

Read more about Spin-stabilized Magnetic Levitation:  Physics

Famous quotes containing the word magnetic:

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