OT -- The Coolest Thing I've Seen All Day

[davintosh]

http://www.viddler.com/explore/thechive/videos/741/

Or maybe all year.

[clangpap]

That is amazing - and I expect someone will chime in over the course of the evening to explain it to the non-science types.

[mtnman533]

I do not understand it, but I find it amazing, awesome, and I want one.

[thrty8street]

Whoa!

[rmiddendorf]

I see a new train system in our future...

[Five two eight eye]

A very cold train system! Cool video, subzero even.

[Rich Euro M5]

I see a new train system in our future...

Not in our lifetimes, but maybe your grand kids will see this technology in practical use. Superconductivity has to be achievable at much warmer temperatures to be cost effective. There are significant safety issues as well due to the high magnetic fields. The ideal solution would utilize the earths gravitational field for propulsion.

[Duke]

There are significant safety issues as well due to the high magnetic fields.

All those metal joints, pace makers, screws and pins. Lots of people would have issues.

[carnutdallas]

Pretty cool.....should be a new toy for young lads

[1st 5er]

I used to have a pet rock.

[TSMacNeil]

Rich is right...not going to see this in application any time soon.
The nearest thing would be a mag-lev like Shanghai currently has.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-54gBLwK3s

[KillerPM]

That is amazing!

[davintosh]

There are significant safety issues as well due to the high magnetic fields.

All those metal joints, pace makers, screws and pins. Lots of people would have issues.

The titanium-based alloys used for medical-grade appliances these days aren't attracted to magnetic fields; they're even ok in MRIs and CT scanners. I had the plates & screws removed from my ankle after the bone had healed (I have them right here with me in fact!), and they do nothing when close to a magnet. During the really boring days of my recovery after that break and surgery to repair it, I thought it would be cool to slap a magnet to my leg; one of the screws was close enough to the skin surface that you could see where it was. But even a rare-earth magnet wouldn't do a thing. I was disappointed.

Pacemakers though, I have no idea (nor do I want any first-hand experience with them.)

[ahab]

Duh, don't you guys know how UFOs work?

[mechacode]

The sad part is that while this is amazing, it won't be put in any kind of real-world use for at least a hundred years. There didn't seem to be a lot of interest around that display either. They need to do displays like that at county fairs, then maybe enough people would start asking why it's not being put to use.

[pldlnr]

The sad part is that while this is amazing, it won't be put in any kind of real-world use for at least a hundred years.

Yeah, technology goes really slow. Think of how little has changed since 1911.

[Rich Euro M5]

There are significant safety issues as well due to the high magnetic fields.

Pacemakers though, I have no idea (nor do I want any first-hand experience with them.)

You don't want to get a pacemaker near strong magnetic fields because it can interfere with their function. The most common MRIs utilize superconducting magnets with field strengths between 1.0 Tesla (T) and 3.0T, with 1T equaling 10,000 Gauss. The maximum stray field allowed for common use hallways and corridors near an MRI is 5 gauss. This is much lower than the field strength required to cause a problem. It's a value set during the bad old days of MRI, when there was no direct knowledge of the impact magnetic stray fields would have on pacemakers.

I only know this because I've worked in the field of MRI (installation and service) for 20+ years.

[Tammer in Philly]

The sad part is that while this is amazing, it won't be put in any kind of real-world use for at least a hundred years. There didn't seem to be a lot of interest around that display either. They need to do displays like that at county fairs, then maybe enough people would start asking why it's not being put to use.

I'm curious what you think the practical application of that technology might be. If you're thinking of low-friction, therefore high-efficiency movement, don't forget to factor in the energy used to keep large masses at 100K.

-tammer

[Rich Euro M5]

The sad part is that while this is amazing, it won't be put in any kind of real-world use for at least a hundred years. There didn't seem to be a lot of interest around that display either. They need to do displays like that at county fairs, then maybe enough people would start asking why it's not being put to use.

I'm curious what you think the practical application of that technology might be. If you're thinking of low-friction, therefore high-efficiency movement, don't forget to factor in the energy used to keep large masses at 100K.

-tammer

I haven't looked into the temps at which superconductivity is being achieved in some time. A little searching revealed it's up to about 185K or -126F, which is about equal to the coldest ambient outdoor temperature in Antarctica.

It looks like there's a ways to go before we'll see superconductivity at 297K (75F).

Rich

[davintosh]

The sad part is that while this is amazing, it won't be put in any kind of real-world use for at least a hundred years. There didn't seem to be a lot of interest around that display either. They need to do displays like that at county fairs, then maybe enough people would start asking why it's not being put to use.

I'm curious what you think the practical application of that technology might be. If you're thinking of low-friction, therefore high-efficiency movement, don't forget to factor in the energy used to keep large masses at 100K.

-tammer

Energy smenergy. All it takes is the application of the same bit of magic required to get Obama's Green Economy off the ground. Quitcher naysaying and get on board.

[mechacode]

The sad part is that while this is amazing, it won't be put in any kind of real-world use for at least a hundred years.

Yeah, technology goes really slow. Think of how little has changed since 1911.

The first computers were invented in the 40's. It took 50+ years before everyone had one. Where's my AI and flying cars?

[pldlnr]

The sad part is that while this is amazing, it won't be put in any kind of real-world use for at least a hundred years.

Yeah, technology goes really slow. Think of how little has changed since 1911.

The first computers were invented in the 40's. It took 50+ years before everyone had one. Where's my AI and flying cars?

So, your benchmark for evolution of a technology is the point "when everyone has one?" So, does that mean that we lack the technology for sophisticated fighter planes becuase everyone doesn't have one? There is an incredible amount of technology that is not available to the common man. Computers were constanlty evolving and improving in the time frame you stated.

My point is that your claim of "100 years" is silly. Look at how technology has advanced over the centuries. It is certainly not linear growth. In 100 years we have gone from barely having cars to driving modern Ferraris and flying F-22s. A computer would have seemed like alien technology. But now, I can sit in my BMW talking on my phone and checking my e28 at the same time. We have created, developed, and utilized amazing things that most could not have conceptualized 100 years ago.

[Tammer in Philly]

Energy smenergy. All it takes is the application of the same bit of magic required to get Obama's Green Economy off the ground. Quitcher naysaying and get on board. :roll:

That's not magic, that's a fuel tax.

Simple. Duh. WINNING.

-tammer

[davintosh]

Energy smenergy. All it takes is the application of the same bit of magic required to get Obama's Green Economy off the ground. Quitcher naysaying and get on board.

That's not magic, that's a fuel tax.

Simple. Duh. WINNING.

-tammer

You're losing, not winning. Even a four year old little girl knows that's a dumb idea.

[nnarth212]

Not in our lifetimes, but maybe your grand kids will see this technology in practical use. Superconductivity has to be achievable at much warmer temperatures....

Perhaps we couple transit with our aged centralized power system. How much power is lost on transmission lines alone... Like 70%?

Put a dozen new nuke reactors by Matt's house in the Dakotas... FIXED!

[Brian in TN]

Holy shit that is the coolest thing ive seen all year. The wifey and I were discussing the levitating house theory today. Would you have to pay rent, taxes etc if you had a floating abode? The whole world will change once levitation comes around. Perhaps the govt is keeping this technology under wraps. I gotta refill my adult beverage now.

[Kyle in NO]

I just read that the Obama Administration is giving this guy 2 trillion dollars.

[David Hunt]

I just read that the Obama Administration is giving this guy 2 trillion dollars.

NO! He's not a banker!
I bet we see that technology within 10 years applied to some train or other transport system. As fuel costs start kicking our ass harder and harder, this stuff becomes more important. BUT we have folds in NZ and the UK making synthetic fuel out of industrial waste gasses and biology, so perhaps not.
So that's not very cold, cryogenically speaking. There is work being done at my company to check viability of using SC magnets to steer a proton beam and that is down at 4K.
I was talking to our Russian who is THE magnet guy who tells me that the cryo cooling is done with direct contact; freaking conduction. Very small volume, closed loop system and the magnet is external. I had been thinking it would be immersed in coolant. The next 10 years will be very interesting from a tech perspective if we avoid world economic collapse.