Is this possible?

Stiganator

Platinum Member
Oct 14, 2001
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Ok so this might be way out in left field. Could it be possible to say make a dome shell thing and fill it with a liquid then some how run current through and make a electromagnet? Then remove the shell and have a floating liquid dome??? eh eh

I realize the no coil thing is most likely a problem, but I am not a electricity guru so yeah.
 

pm

Elite Member Mobile Devices
Jan 25, 2000
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I can't picture exactly what you are describing but I can't see that this would work.

That said, through the use of extremely high-power magnets, you can use the diamagnetic effect to levitate water. Given that (with a lot of effort) you can make water float in a magnetic field, I can't think of any good reason why you couldn't carefully adjust the field to make some form of levitating water dome using the same technique.

http://www.hfml.science.ru.nl/froglev.html
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
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www.slatebrookfarm.com
Frogs have been levitated...

However, I don't think you're going to manage to maintain a certain shape after removing a shell.

Look at it this way: Gravity is pulling it down; you're using electromagnetic forces to push it up.
You can hover a frog or a waterballoon in a strong magnetic field...
You can hover a frog or a waterballoon in a vertical wind tunnel.
Pop the balloon in the windtunnel, and it's not going to maintain its spherical shape.
Although, there are some differences between the two situations, I'm struggling to think of a way...

:lightbulb;
Magnet all around the outside, like could be used for holding a plasma in the center? Maybe that would work?
 

Mayson

Junior Member
Dec 11, 2005
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Fill the water a stable colloidal suspension of sub-domain magnetic particles in a liquid carrier. Which, as I just looked up, is called a ferrofluid :) When a field is applied all the "little magnets" align with the field and viscosity makes the liquid take the same shape. Apply a field that looks like your dome, and BAM there's what you're looking for.
 

BigPoppa

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Impossible: i'd say no.
Extremely difficult/costly: yes.

By manipulating multiple mag fields until the shape you want, you could technically make a ferrofluid as suggest by Mayson conform to any shape you wanted.
 

TitanDiddly

Guest
Dec 8, 2003
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It's possible, but getting a perfect dome shape would be almost impossible. Are you thinking that it ought to be hollow? In that case, I'd say no, with current knowledge of physics.
 

Mayson

Junior Member
Dec 11, 2005
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field strength drops off pretty quickly as you move away from the magnet so, either insanely powerful magnets or magnets as big as your dome shape :)