Earnshaw defeated

According to Samuel Earnshaw (1805 - 1888) it is impossible to stably suspend a permanent magnet in the field of another permanent magnet.

Here we show with a little diamagnetic help of pyrolytic carbon that a neodymium magnet can be suspended in the field of a permanent ceramic magnet.

We know that

"Earnshaw's theorem states that a collection of point charges cannot be maintained in a stable stationary equilibrium configuration solely by the electrostatic interaction of the charges. This was first proven by British mathematician Samuel Earnshaw in 1842. It is usually referenced to magnetic fields, but originally applied to electrostatic fields. It applies to the classical inverse-square law forces (electric and gravitational) and also to the magnetic forces of permanent magnets and paramagnetic materials or any combination, (but not diamagnetic materials)."

So we are not really breaking Earnshaw's Theorem.

Information extracted from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earnshaw%27s_theorem

See link for exact information regarding the subject.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• magnet
• levitation
• Earnshaw's
• Theorem
• pyrolytic
• carbon
• diamagnetism