Re: Student demonstration in Magnetism

[Wolfgang Rueckner <rueckner@FAS.HARVARD.EDU>]

> One of my students would like to do a demonstration in physics class.=
>   He wants to show how you can magnetically levitate a wire.   I have=
>  no idea how to do this.  I can solve the formulas and get numbers.  =
> He has done this and has come up with needing a current of 99 A.  I d=
> on't think so.
>
> Any thoughts?  Is it doable?
>
> Tina
>
> Tina Fanetti
> Physics Instructor
> Western Iowa Technical Community College
> 4647 Stone Ave
> Sioux City IA 51102
> 712-274-8733 ext 1429

One needs a lot more information than the above to answer your
question.  Do you mean levitating a straight current-carrying wire
above another current carrying wire (unstable)?  Do you mean a loop
of wire levitated by an AC magnetic field?  And there are of course
other possibilities.

Wolfgang