Levitating superconductor floats within a magnetic field so you don't have to (video)
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/hW2eKLehsdGHrw_HaC_r5g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTUzMA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/gc4iJs9nk3TtTxyumrvOHg--~B/aD0zMzE7dz02MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/10/levitation.jpg)
What happens when you douse a superconducting urinal cake with liquid nitrogen? We haven't given it too much thought, to be honest, though we're guessing it would look a lot like the "levitating" disc pictured above. Developed by researchers at Tel-Aviv University, this device is actually a superconductor hovering over a "supercooled" magnet. While locked within the magnetic field, it can rotate around a vertical axis, turn upside down or do laps around a track -- all thanks to a phenomenon that Tel-Aviv's physicists call "quantum trapping." We're not really sure what that entails, but we do know that the results are pretty incredible. Check them out for yourself, after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]