Levitation as a technique generally refers to engineered methods for stably suspending an object against gravity without mechanical contact, using physical forces such as electromagnetic, electrostatic, acoustic, or optical fields. In research and technology, key implementations include magnetic levitation (maglev), which exploits diamagnetism, superconductivity (Meissner effect), or actively controlled electromagnets; acoustic levitation, which uses standing sound waves and radiation pressure; and optical levitation, relying on gradient and scattering forces in tightly focused laser beams. These techniques are used for frictionless transport, high-precision positioning, isolation from vibrational or mechanical perturbations, and containerless processing in materials science and fundamental physics experiments.
A research team led by Professor Steven Wang, Associate Vice President (Resources Planning) and Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Energy and Environment, has designed a revolutionary ...
General Physics
May 26, 2026
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Ferromagnets, such as iron, cobalt, and nickel, are materials with a strong, spontaneous, and permanent magnetic field. Over 150 years ago, the physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell speculated that under specific ...
Reaching the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, would take hundreds of thousands of years using current rocket propulsion technology. Researchers in the J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M ...
Space Exploration
Apr 22, 2026
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109
Time crystals, a collection of particles that "tick"—or move back and forth in repeating cycles—were first theorized and then discovered about a decade ago. While scientists have yet to create commercial or industrial applications ...
General Physics
Feb 6, 2026
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University of Leicester engineers have unveiled a concept for a device designed to magnetically "cloak" sensitive components, making them invisible to detection.
Condensed Matter
Dec 19, 2025
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A new type of sensor that levitates dozens of glass microparticles could revolutionize the accuracy and efficiency of sensing, laying the foundation for better autonomous vehicles, navigation and even the detection of dark ...
General Physics
Dec 2, 2025
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Using sound to get objects to float works well if a single particle is levitated, but it causes multiple particles to collapse into a clump in mid-air. Physicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) ...
General Physics
Dec 2, 2025
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It looks like a magic trick: Cells at the bottom of a liquid medium begin levitating, then hovering at a particular height. With no physical contact, an invisible force directs certain cells to float up or down in unison, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 24, 2025
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With a clever design, researchers have solved eddy-current damping in macroscopic levitating systems, paving the way for a wide range of sensing technologies.
General Physics
Oct 10, 2025
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Quantum mechanics theory predicts that, in addition to exhibiting particle-like behavior, particles of all sizes can also have wave-like properties. These properties can be represented using the wave function, a mathematical ...
