Mice Levitated in Lab

Mice Levitated in Lab

www.livescience.com

Scientists have now levitated mice using magnetic fields.
Other researchers have made live frogs and grasshoppers float in mid-air before, but such research with mice, being closer biologically to humans, could help in studies to counteract bone loss due to reduced gravity over long spans of time, as might be expected in deep space missions or on the surfaces of other planets.

Scientists working on behalf of NASA built a device to simulate variable levels of gravity. It consists of a superconducting magnet that generates a field powerful enough to levitate the water inside living animals

(visit the link for the full news article)

Figured it was time to post some good news.
This is really cool development. My first though was how much longer do we have to wait for the hover boards like on "Back to the Future"
All they need to do now is make a portable model . This is also gonna effect our transportation. Makes me wonder how long they have been doing this before releasing to public.

Is there any threads about that guy in Canada that levitated with radio waves and such ?

www.livescience.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Grayelf2009

Is there any threads about that guy in Canada that levitated with radio waves and such ?

You mean self proclaimed "Dr. Hutchinson"? Who can not reproduce his effect when in front of an audience? I would not have much faith in him...

As far as the levitation, it is good news but there is still A LOT of work to do before anything like hover cars, anti-gravity, etc. Keep in mind those super conducting magnets are quite large for the limited effect they have, they are also super cooled below zero. Good news though, thanks for sharing, S/F...

[edit on 9/9/2009 by jkrog08]

Originally posted by jkrog08
reply to post by Grayelf2009

 

Is there any threads about that guy in Canada that levitated with radio waves and such ?

You mean self proclaimed "Dr. Hutchinson"? Who can not reproduce his effect when in front of an audience? I would not have much faith in him...

I knew someone here would have a little insite on him. Thanks.
Yeah I know it may be a while before the hover cars, but it is definitly a step closer.

Ive seen this done with frogs before and i was surprised that the frog didnt struggle while it was being levitated. It seemed to like floating around.

reply to post by jkrog08

The object being levitated has to be within the magnetic field which is created by the device. Magnetic levitation cannot be used as a propulsion device, it would be the same as lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps.

The article is a bit misleading to talk about this and gravity in the same breath. The weight of the mice is being counteracted by the magnetic field. The force of gravity is not being affected.


[edit on 9/9/2009 by Phage]

reply to post by Phage


Yea, I knew that...

However, I disagree with you stating it could not be used for any useful propulsion. Now obviously the levitation principle could not, so maybe I did not clarify what I meant, and it just seemed to me that you were saying that EM can not be used as any means of propulsion-my fault if you were--sometimes it is hard to decipher things over the internet. Now of course not right now, but if modified and advanced upon I do think the EM force can be used for propulsive means similar to "antigravity"... (BTW, there is no real "anti-gravity" even postulated right now, the term is a bit misleading as really the best postulates show that you would actually just be using the EM force to overpower gravity, which we all know is the weakest force, followed by EM, and then the two strongest, the nuclear forces--I am sure you knew that however...). Anyways, back to the propulsion... I believe that if a strong enough magnetic field can be produced around, say a car sized craft, then it would be possible to 'repel' gravity by means of a directional electromagnetic force application.

Furthermore, I also think it is possible (I am not the only one btw ) to use the EM force to 'fool gravity' by reducing the effect of an objects mass, and thus the effect of gravity exerted upon said object. I also believe that if the right mechanism can be achieved (keep in mind I am just theorizing now based o current understandings, of course the following conjecture requires major breakthroughs in physics and mechanical applications) it could be possible to manipulate the EM field enough were the apparent effect of gravity becomes NEGATIVE, thus creating a repulsive effect, rather than an attractive effect seen with a positive gravity 'signature'. I think that either one of the aforementioned postulates can and would work, of course with some major breakthroughs, but either one or both are certainly possible according to current understandings of physics and such.

But as far as magnetic levitation as shown in this case and maglev tracks then no if you are strictly speaking of the same mode of action, although it is similar in principle to what I stated above and should be considered the early steps of such in my opinion.


[edit on 9/9/2009 by jkrog08]

EDITED again as it seems I did not clarify my above statement well enough.

[edit on 9/9/2009 by jkrog08]

Oddly enough I just heard about this courtesy of Conan O'Brien. He said NASA does this for fun when they're tired of deaing with Mars(or something like that).

I believe it

More on topic:
I think they've actually been doing this for awhile now. It's going to take a lot more funding and research to get anything we can really capitalize on. I don't really see this going anywhere in the near-near future. It'll probably get tossed onto the backburner with a lot of other projects that don't receive proper funding.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by jkrog08
reply to post by Phage

 

However, I disagree with you stating it could not be used for any useful propulsion. of course not right now, but if modified and advanced upon.

I'm thinking that your not quite understanding what Phage is getting at. Trying to use this system for independently levitating something is like saying that because we can float in water it means that someday we will be able to use the same water technology to float off of the ground.

The simple fact is that the levitation device is attached to the ground not to the mouse so there would always have to be a big magnet following you around on the ground in order for you to use such a system outside the lab. You might as well just hire a limo with a hot tub in the back to float around in. It is the same principle but much cheaper and less EMF exposure.

reply to post by dainoyfb


Oh I understand, maybe I did not make myself as clear as I should have...The overall principles of using the EM force to overcome gravity could be applied for propulsive means. I also made this statement in my post, incase you missed it.

But as far as magnetic levitation as shown in this case and maglev tracks then no if you are strictly speaking of the same mode of action, although it is similar in principle to what I stated above and should be considered the early steps of such in my opinion.

I hope your right. It would be nice to finally see some Blade Runner cars.

reply to post by dainoyfb


LOL, yea......I thought we were supposed to have those by now!lol...

Sorry for not stating my thoughts better, I can see how it would have came off as me saying that basic magnetic levitation could be used as any type of propulsion like I was talking about.

reply to post by Grayelf2009

All they need to do now is make a portable model . This is also gonna effect our transportation. Makes me wonder how long they have been doing this before releasing to public.

Have you not heard of the MagLev?

Trains supported by magnetic repulsion are already in use.

The Shanghai MagLev has a top speed of over 400 kilometers per hour( 265 m.ph.). A German test train hit a forgotten railcar at 120 m.p.h. and killed all on board.
Others are being tested in Europe, the UK and the US.

jw

Originally posted by VitalOverdose
Ive seen this done with frogs before and i was surprised that the frog didnt struggle while it was being levitated. It seemed to like floating around.

"It actually kicked around and started to spin, and without friction, it could spin faster and faster, and we think that made it even more disoriented," said researcher Yuanming Liu, a physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. They decided to mildly sedate the next mouse they levitated, which seemed content with floating.

Surely if this magnetic field is messing around with the water inside of the mouses body enough to levitate it off the ground, it can't be healthy for it!

I wonder how the little rodent ended up after that experiment?

Originally posted by GioTheGreek
Surely if this magnetic field is messing around with the water inside of the mouses body enough to levitate it off the ground, it can't be healthy for it!

I wonder how the little rodent ended up after that experiment?

My first question upon reading was how did this affect the circulatory system and equalibrium?

I think we are getting another biased half-truth as far as these experiments.

Perhaps people will be promised special powers like levitation via frequencies installed in their chips...eventually.

reply to post by OmegaPoint


They probably cut that bit out for the documentary i watched

The thing that really makes me laugh about things like this is the really, really dodgy excuses as to why they were doing it in the first place!

To study the effects on bones caused by weightlessness?! WHY??!

Just admit that you were making mice float for the fun of it!

Scottish comedian Franky Boyle summed it up perfectly:

Scientist A: What shall we do today? Discover a cure for cancer?
Scientist B: Nah, I'm going to see how many fruit pastilles it takes to choke a kestrel.

I disagree with Phage, the device can certainly be used to "float" within a gravity field. He is correct that it isn't actually affecting gravity in any way, it is only providing a counter force, but the net result is the same.

Now if the device attached to the mouse and the magnetic field was altered so that it "levitated" the earth instead of the other way around, the same counter forces would exist. It is only a matter of magnetic repulsion. The limiting factor would be the weight of the device and the force it produces. A 10lb machine to levitate a 4 oz mouse would not work. It would have to produce as much force as it weighs, plus enough additional force to account for its "passenger." So to levitate a 200 lb human, a device weighing say 30 lbs, would have to produce 230 lbs of force to be effective. Then, the force could be slightly altered to provide propulsion as well!!

I think this technology is coming. It is a matter of either storing or generating electricity with smaller and lighter devices, and a lot of progress is being made in that regard.

Originally posted by getreadyalready A 10lb machine to levitate a 4 oz mouse would not work.

"A 5oz bird CANNOT carry a 1lb coconut!"


...sorry, what you said just reminded me of that quote.