In the last decade, the magnetic levitation of diamagnetic materials has become more accessible to standard laboratory facilities, as the early experimental setup consisting of superconducting magnets (>10 T) and a pressurized oxygen atmosphere has been replaced by small rare-earth magnets and aqueous paramagnetic salt solutions. One of the characteristics of magnetic levitation is that there is an equilibrium position in a magnetic field in which an object is stably levitated. When a levitating object in magnetic fields is moved away from a position of equilibrium, a restoration force on the object returns it to equilibrium position. The magnetic susceptibility and the density of the object determine this stable point. Therefore, different substances levitated in the same magnetic field have different equilibrium positions of levitation and can thus be separated.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds