ELECTROMAGNETIC_LEVITATOR

Published:2009/7/16 22:04:00 Author:Jessie | From:SeekIC

This circuit is used to levitate a steel ball as a demonstration of levitation via an electromagnet. An infrared photodetector is used to sense the position of a steel ball and control the current in the electromagnet via a feedback loop. An infrared emitter and detector mounted across from each other create an invisible beam that passes slightly below the coil. As the object rises toward the electro-magnet, it begins to block the beam. When the beam becomes blocked, the output of the detector is reduced, which, in turn, reduces the current in the electromagnet's coil. The reduced current weakens the magnetic field, the object begins to drop, and the detector once again sees more of the beam.This causes the circuit to increase the magnetic field, and the cycle repeats as the object is attracted upward again. The circuit is designed go that eventually an equilibrium is reached where the magnetic attraction exactly balances the force of gravity pulling on the object. The object then remains perfectly suspended in the infrared beam's path with no visible means of support!



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