OK, this subject has nothing to do with MorphOS, Pegasos, and Efika, but this is "The Bar"! So let me introduce the levitron, maybe you will be curious...

When I end the first part of my course of Physics 2 (at the university "Federico II" of Naples, for students who will graduate in Physics), the students should know all the fundamentals of magnetostatics. So I bring into the classroom my superlevitron and show it to them.

The superlevitron is a small magnetic top that fluctuates in the air because of the antigravitational force generated by a magnetic basement. When you launch the top, it levitates for one or two minutes until the air friction slows its spinning motion. In the end it turns upside down and falls because it is no longer repelled by the magnetic basement.

It's a very good experiment because its theoretical explanation, besides magnetostatics, also requires a good knowledge of moments of inertia, precession motion, metastable equilibrium, and so on (from the previous course of Physics 1).

But the most interesting thing is that the superlevitron seems a magical object. As Arthur C. Clarke said: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"...

Well, this year one of my students made three movies and put them on youtube. Yesterday I discovered their existence and would like to share them with you. Welcome to Dr.Morbius' show!

Thats superb! Gotta order me one of those!

Very nice! I saw something like that on Discovery Channel the other day, but they used bigger things xD. very nice anyway, that's the way things should be tought. These students won't forget that lesson ever xD.

very nice!

this reminded me also another interesting stuff: liquid metals...

i love these experiments... hope they will one day get us to the distant space :)

bye, MarK.

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[ Edited by Velcro_SP 12.09.2011 - 09:20 ]