Levitation

Magnetic levitation is used to float things like lamps and trains, but usually it requires a power source. Now, scientists in Japan have developed a way to make a floating platform that requires no external power, out of regular old graphite.

The Mars Helicopter drone may be scheduled to launch soon, but it's still just a single aircraft that will be useless if it conks out. With that in mind, scientists are now looking into an alternative – fleets of tiny, cheap "Nanocardboard Flyers."

Researchers at the University of Sussex have developed SoundBender, a technology that bends sound waves around obstacles to acoustically levitate objects above them.

In 2018 we have almost become jaded by levitating objects. You name it and there is likely a levitating iteration, from turntables to cloud-shaped lamps. Joining that list is the LeviZen, a water-levitating device that uses acoustic levitation to suspend a droplet in mid-air.

​​Brooklyn-based designer Richard Clarkson has been experimenting with artificial cloud designs for several years now. His latest invention is the Floating Cloud – a magnetically levitating ambient lamp that flickers through different colored LED modes in response to the sound in a room.​

Hyperloop crossed another milestone in January with the very first test runs being performed in a vacuum as part of the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition. New Atlas caught up with VicHyper, one of 27 teams who converged on SpaceX HQ, to chat about how the competition went and what happens next.

Levitating Bluetooth speakers have been around for a while now but remain a relatively niche item. LG Electronics aims to be the firm to bring them into the mainstream with its newly-unveiled PJ9, which promises 10 hours of battery life and automatically descends to charge when juice gets low.

Slovenia's Mag-Lev Audio is currently Kickstarting a design that makes use of magnets, sensors and custom software to levitate the platter above the base, keep it perfectly stable and spin it at album or single playback speeds – adding a wow factor visual feast to the vinyl listening experience.

​Nixie tubes have lately been finding their way into clocks and other devices. At the same time, we've also been seeing an increase in gadgets that levitate objects using magnets. Therefore, it really shouldn't come as a surprise that someone is now offering an ultra-cool levitating nixie clock.​

Late last year, we first heard about the hovering ArcaBoard. At the time, people wondered if it really worked as advertised. Well, now its creators have released a new video of it apparently in action, along with an announcement of a lower planned price.

Need something to place alongside your levitating Bluetooth speakers? It looks like progress in magnetic levitation, induction and one product designer's brain have come together to save the day. The Flyte globe hovers freely above its base, offering a unique way to light up a room.

The designers of the BAT levitating wireless mouse say that it's been developed to help prevent Carpal tunnel syndrome.