The superconductor magic show

Quantum locking demonstration from Boaz Almog at Ted.com

This stuff looks like the best that Las Vegas can produce - a magic show that leaves the audience wondering just how did that happen?

Well, unlike magic shows, this is real.  Applying quantum physics in a way that hasn't been possible to demonstrate before.  Using superconductivity to enable levitation of objects 70,000 heavier than the material doing the lifting.  It's a shame that we need liquid nitrogen to create the effect, which somewhat limits the practical application, but it's early days.  Who knows where this may lead?

The real magic here is the removal of friction as the materials float as if in a vacuum.  Without friction there is the ability for heavy objects to reach great speed.  Levitation for running trains above a track are an exciting technology but how do you maintain the supercooled environment that's achieved through the liquid nitrogen?  I'm guessing that whatever you are firing around the circuit needs to be walled within a space that preserves this super-cooled environment.

Thanks to my tutor, John Green, for providing me with this link.

Watch the demo and be amazed.

Quantum levitation in action (Boaz Almog at Ted.com)