Quantum Levitation: Subzero Temperatures and Suspended in Air

By Diya Poluru;

Tech Associate; The Lawrenceville School, NJ

Picture this: a disc of yttrium barium copper oxide, a superconductor, discovered in liquid nitrogen boiling into gas at room temperature, hovering above a track of magnets. No strings attached, nothing holding the disc up except pure science. You wave your hand beneath it, above it, but it stays put. You even tilt it at an angle, and it remains there, suspended in the air. Give the disc a quick push with your finger, and it goes zooming around the track. Add another magnet, move it to a different height, and send them zooming around the track simultaneously. You can even add one underneath it and do the same. The same happens when a magnet is hovered over the object: the magnet stays suspended in the air, and at first, this seems unreal —literally defying gravity. However, this is no fantasy; this is quantum levitation at work.

What is quantum levitation, and how does it work? 

In short, quantum levitation is where a superconductor is suspended above something magnetic (in the cases in the images above, it’s a magnetic track), and is held there due to quantum physics that manipulate magnetic fields and due to principles of quantum physics such as the Meissner effect and “magnetic flux pinning”. 

Firstly, a superconductor is a material that achieves superconductivity. Superconductivity is a state of matter with zero electrical resistance and a special interaction with magnetic fields. Superconductivity can only be achieved at a specific temperature. These temperatures are generally extremely cold. For example, a popular superconductor used for quantum levitation is yttrium barium copper oxide, or YBCO. This material is usually cooled by pouring liquid nitrogen, which has a boiling point of around -196 degrees Celsius (-320.8 degrees Fahrenheit), on top of it. As the YBCO is cooled down to this temperature, it passes its critical point, around 93 Kelvin (-180.15 degrees Celsius / -292.27 degrees Fahrenheit). This causes it to start displaying its bizarre properties. Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening inside the material.

Simply put, when the material reaches its critical point, its electric resistance drops to exactly zero, meaning there’s essentially no internal friction in the sense that electrons flow. Still, they don’t stop like they do in normal conductors and are flowing indefinitely. In semiconductors, when a free-flowing electron bumps into an atom, it loses some energy as heat, and without constant electron pumping, the electrons would eventually stop flowing.

Usually, when moving electrons through a conductor, you would eventually lose the energy to heat, and the current stops. However, for superconductors, this process does not happen. Once it is cooled past the critical temperature, electrons actually don’t move as individuals, but instead pair up. These electrons, even from a distance, are mysteriously connected, and this connection of the electrons is called a Cooper pair. This may seem strange because, typically, electrons repel each other, but in a superconductor, above a specific temperature, something weird happens. Think of it this way: when an electron enters the “lattice” of positive ions, or cations, the cations are slightly attracted towards the electron. Then, another ion, which doesn’t even have to be very close to it and could in fact be something like a hundred nanometers away, feels attracted to the electron rather than repelled because it has these sorts of positive charges around it. Hence, the second electron hangs on to the momentum of the first electron, creating a bond between them and forming a Cooper pair. 

When electrons can do this, they can move through the material in this quantum state without scattering, because the energy required to scatter the pair is higher, and at the material's cooled state, that does not happen. This means the material is now conducting electricity with no resistance. 

So, how does this relate to quantum levitation? When the superconductor is cooled and the processes explained above occur, when it is placed near a magnet, the object is exposed to a changing magnetic field. When exposed to a magnetic field, the superconductor generates its own opposing magnetic field because, inside the superconductor, Cooper pairs generate currents that oppose the external magnetic field. In this process, something called the Meissner effect occurs. Usually, when exposed to a magnetic field, the field lines pass through the object. Still, in a superconductor, when it’s exposed to a magnetic field and generates a mirror field, it expels the magnetic field. It causes the lines to go around it, as shown in the diagram below: 

However, this is not the only process taking place. In quantum levitation, the superconductor doesn’t just repel the magnet; it also attracts it in a way that it stays in the same relative position to it. It doesn’t just go flying away; it remains suspended above or below the magnet at a fixed height. This is due to quantum locking. 

Firstly, it is essential to understand that there are two types of superconductors, Type I and Type II. For the sake of quantum locking, the vital difference to note is that when Type II superconductors like YBCO have slight impurities, magnetic field lines can pass through these minuscule holes, creating a funnel for just a little bit to pass through. This action locks the superconductor in place, causing it to suspend in the air, and is called flux pinning.

From this discovery, at first, this sort of technology could be revolutionary. There have already been reports of superconducting wires for more efficient energy transfer, or superconducting cables, which seem promising for addressing many issues. Maglev trains use superconducting magnets and coils of superconducting wire to hover above the ground, moving at high speeds without friction. With technology like this, it’s cheaper to keep up because there’s less friction and fewer moving parts, which could also save money. Other promising inventions are contactless bearings, which do not require physical contact (no friction) and use magnetic levitation. Superconductors are also used in a multitude of ways, including MRI scanners and more. These processes are similar to quantum levitation and demonstrate how useful it can be for scientific breakthroughs. However, maintaining such cryogenically cold temperatures is currently a limitation on what this process can do for us in real-world applications, and while we someday hope to have high-temperature superconductors or even room-temperature superconductors, it’s not possible yet. 

In conclusion, quantum levitation and superconductivity represent an incredible breakthrough in quantum physics and science in general. While there are currently limited things we can do with it, in the future, it has the potential to become something even more extraordinary, on an even grander scale, transforming technology, science, and even energy systems for the better.

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