Rising force : the magic of magnetic levitation / James D. Livingston.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Levity vs. gravity. Fictional and illusional levitation ; Wingardium leviosa! ; Mystical levitation ; Physical levitation without magnets -- Gravitational and magnetic forces. Forces of the universe ; Magnetic forces ; Magnetic materials -- Maglev : a balance of forces. Poles apart ; Force at a distance ; The floating island of Laputa ; Stability and degrees of freedom -- Spinning the Levitron. Only a toy ; Toy story ; The super -- Inducing uplift. Mutual induction ; Flinging rings and things ; Eddy-current heating and levitation melting ; Fields of force -- Flying frogs. The Ig Nobel Prize ; Diamagnetism and the Moses Effect ; Diamagnetic levitation and stabilization ; Froglev -- Super-levitation. Superdiamagnetism and supercurrents ; Higher fields ; Higher temperatures -- Feeding back. Brief recap ; Floating globes ; Floatin' in the wind ; Snowball in hell ; Microbots and pigs -- In a spin. Bearing up ; Enriching and proliferating ; A few words about energy ; Flying wheels ; Pumping blood ; Floating rotors -- The no-spin zone. Flying broomsticks ; Flotors and the maglev touch ; Maglev nanotechnology ; Sub-nano : angstroms and atoms ; Maglev rocket sleds -- Flying trains. Emile Bachelet ; Kemper and electromagnetic levitation (EML) ; Powell/Danby and electrodynamic levitation (EDL) ; The competition -- All aboard! Urban maglev ; Permanent-magnet maglev ; Transrapid trials and tribulations ; Sin express to Vegas ; Maglev deployment program and ARRA -- Keeping it up. Up with magnets! ; Magnetic personalities ; Ben Franklin's vision : levity over gravity.

Print version record.

From Peter Pan to Harry Potter, from David Copperfield to levitating toys, there is magic in conquering gravity. In this first-ever popular introduction to "maglev"--The use of magnetic forces to overcome gravity and friction--James D. Livingston takes lay readers on a journey of discovery, from basic concepts to today's most thrilling applications. The tour begins with examples of our historical fascination with levitation, both real and fake. At the next stop, Livingston introduces readers to the components of maglev: gravitational and magnetic forces in the universe, force fields, diamagnetism and stabilization, superdiamagnetism and supercurrents, maglev nanotechnology, and more. He explores the development of the superconductors that are making large-scale levitation devices possible, and the use of magnetic bearings in products ranging from implanted blood pumps to wind turbines, integrated circuit fabrication, and centrifuges to enrich uranium. In the last chapters, we arrive at the science behind maglev transportation systems, such as Chinese trains that travel 250 miles per hour without touching the tracks. Packed with fascinating anecdotes about the colorful personalities who have "fought friction by fighting gravity," the book maintains accuracy throughout while it entertains and informs technical and nontechnical readers alike. With so many new applications for magnetic levitation on the horizon, Rising Force is sure to retain its own magic for years to come.

In this first-ever popular introduction to "maglev"--The use of magnetic forces to overcome gravity and friction--Livingston takes lay readers on a journey of discovery, from maglev nanotechnology to Chinese trains that travel at 250 mph without touching the tracks. He finds magic in "fighting friction by fighting gravity."

English.

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