NUS Physics Openhouse
Yeah, have been busy going to the NUS during the 8, 9 and 10 June for a Physics Open house. Not wanting to talk about how smart the RI people are... and how we got trashed during the quiz... bleah...
There was this very interesting experiment that I saw, perhaps you are interested to know?
The video shows a superconductor practically floating above and moving around a circular magnetic plate (with no contact with the plate at all)...
Before we continue on this, I shall introduce Liquid Nitrogen to you. Yes, if you may have guessed, the picture to the left depicts a scene at the physics lab of NUS. It shows a cup containing Liquid Nitrogen.
Liquid nitrogen is Nitrogen gas cooled down to -196o C. Interesting issn't it? That explains why it is so cold. The wooden test tube holder (picture) frost up immediately after I put it into liquid nitrogen for less than a second. Imagine putting your finger into it... the feeling would have been worse than getting a frost bite.
Liquid nitrogen has such a low boiling point, it practically boils at room temperature. Looking at it indeed reminds me of a boiling water (in fact more vigorous bubbles/mist than boiling water). This also explains the mist around the cup.
A superconductor is actually a material which possess no resistance to electric current. The superconductor in this experiment is made by soaking an alloy into liquid nitrogen. It then possess special magnetic properties as it becomes very very cold.
Ok back to the experiment. The reason why the superconductor floats over the magnetic plates is due to the "Magnetic-levitation" concept. German researchers Walter Meissner and Robert Ochsenfeld discovered that a superconducting material will repel a magnetic field, which explains why it floats. COOL EI?
There was this very interesting experiment that I saw, perhaps you are interested to know?
The video shows a superconductor practically floating above and moving around a circular magnetic plate (with no contact with the plate at all)...
Before we continue on this, I shall introduce Liquid Nitrogen to you. Yes, if you may have guessed, the picture to the left depicts a scene at the physics lab of NUS. It shows a cup containing Liquid Nitrogen.Liquid nitrogen is Nitrogen gas cooled down to -196o C. Interesting issn't it? That explains why it is so cold. The wooden test tube holder (picture) frost up immediately after I put it into liquid nitrogen for less than a second. Imagine putting your finger into it... the feeling would have been worse than getting a frost bite.
Liquid nitrogen has such a low boiling point, it practically boils at room temperature. Looking at it indeed reminds me of a boiling water (in fact more vigorous bubbles/mist than boiling water). This also explains the mist around the cup.
A superconductor is actually a material which possess no resistance to electric current. The superconductor in this experiment is made by soaking an alloy into liquid nitrogen. It then possess special magnetic properties as it becomes very very cold.
Ok back to the experiment. The reason why the superconductor floats over the magnetic plates is due to the "Magnetic-levitation" concept. German researchers Walter Meissner and Robert Ochsenfeld discovered that a superconducting material will repel a magnetic field, which explains why it floats. COOL EI?
em@il sent in @ 12:10 PM
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