Using magnetic fields to hover a small LED disk, this little flying saucer lamp lights up when you slide the disk into place, then dims when you remove it. Functional for sure, the real draw of this design is probably in the wow-factor – impress your guests with science bordering on magic.

The LUNALUXX lamp by Elivatix is sleek and minimal, a curved steel bar connecting the white shade piece above and the lamp base below, but the real magic lies in between – current pulsing through the system at 1,000 times per second to keep the disk in place and lit. You can poke and prod the disk and it will return to its default position in midair unless dislodged manually by physically grabbing and removing it.

From the designers: “It is truly the first of its kind featuring a minimalistic design, generating a smooth atmospheric light with a futuristic touch.
 By combining both magnetic suspension and remote-phosphor lightning technologies, a light emitting disc is freely suspended in mid air!”

More on the technology: “The design also uses remote phosphor technology to administer its light through two LEDs. In the base of the lamp, a blue LED shines up onto the LED disk, which is layered with phosphor. When the beam hits the layer on the disk, the blue light is absorbed and the disk radiates white. This twofold technology allows for a high energy efficiency, with the blue LED consuming only 2-3 watts of power, whilst the LED disk seems to glow with 15-20 watts of light.”

The post Maglev Lamp: Magnetic Floating LED Disc Activates Light first appeared on Gajitz.

All of those buzzkills who have said for years that multi-directional levitation isn’t possible clearly weren’t counting on the ingenuity of Yoichi Ochiai, Takayuki Hoshi and Jun Rekimoto, all researchers at the University of Tokyo. The group’s custom-built machine manipulates ultrasonic beams to move around an object in the machines focal point – and it can move them in multiple directions.

Objects caught inside the focal point – actually a three-dimensional standing wave – can be manipulated and pushed around using that wave. The machine is safe enough that it’s safe to put your hand in there and mess around with the thing being levitated. The technology has to be scaled up a lot before it’s useful for anything other than novelty, but it’s a pretty great start to being able to build working hoverboards.

The post Tokyo Team Achieves Levitation Using Ultrasonic Waves first appeared on Gajitz.

Carpal Tunnel syndrome arises from performing repetitive actions like typing, using a computer mouse, or making the same movements with your hands hundreds of times a day (like factory workers do). It’s more than just an irritation – it’s seriously painful and can limit the use of your wrists. Designer Vadim Kibardin has designed a mouse that could spell the end of this painful condition.

The Bat is a levitating mouse/base combination that utilizes a magnet to float above the surface of your desk. The change in position relieves pressure on the median nerve. This nerve allows the fingers and hands to move, but when it is damaged by carpal tunnel syndrome the hand and fingers experience numbness and weakness.

The floating ring part of the setup contains a circular magnet that is repelled from the base unit. Because the mouse is no longer resting on the desk and the wrist can move freely, there is no pressure on the nerves. The designer didn’t mention anything about arm fatigue, which we imagine might be a problem when using a mouse that requires you to keep your arm aloft.

The post Death of Carpal Tunnel? Levitating Mouse is Easy on Wrists first appeared on Gajitz.

Lots of people bike for exercise, but other than the physical benefits they receive it seems that these workouts could be doing more good. The Levitation Bike from design team DEzien is a concept that would incorporate exercise, electricity generation and a mobile hotspot.

The bike is a futuristic concept that would be made from Hi-Macs, a moldable solid material that would let the bikes be rapidly and inexpensively produced. But of course, the fact that the bike levitates would be its stand-out feature. It uses magnetic levitation to keep it just above the ground as you coast along, avoiding pebbles and uneven terrain. At slower speeds, it rides along the ground just like a regular bike.

But as you pedal, you also generate energy that is stored in high-capacity batteries. You can detach the batteries later to charge your gadgets, or you can plug it right into your home’s electric system to feed power back into the grid. If you prefer to charge on the go, you can plug in your USB-charged gadgets as you’re cycling.

An LED touch screen lets you keep track of your workout information and how much energy you have generated. Levitation creates its own mobile wi-fi hotspot as you pedal, letting you stay connected as you’re on the go. Of course, Levitation is only a concept (and, to be honest, a kind of uncomfortable-looking one at that) but its purpose is to bet people thinking about alternative means of energy generation. With its gorgeous looks and unique concept, it seems to do that quite well.

The post Almost-Hoverbike Levitates and Generates Electricity + Wi-Fi first appeared on Gajitz.

(image via: The Somewhat Ambitious)

We might be one step closer to finally realizing our collective life-long dream of owning a levitation cloak like Dr. Strange. NASA’s jet propulsion lab in Los Angeles has successfully levitated a live 10-gram mouse using magnetic fields. Scientists there built a small chamber equipped with a superconducting magnet. The magnetic field is capable of levitating the water inside of small animals so that scientists can study the bone loss effects that come from spending long periods of time in a weightless environment.

Not surprisingly, the mouse was less than thrilled. According to the scientists involved in the study, the mouse struggled and tried to grab onto something when levitating, causing it to spin around and around and become even more distressed and disoriented. The next time they tried the experiment, they lightly sedated the mouse first. Eventually the researchers found that even mice who hadn’t been sedated seemed to get used to the weightlessness after three or four hours. The next step is to have the animals live in the levitation chamber for a week or more to study the effects on their bodies.

This isn’t the first time small animals have been levitated. Scientists have levitated insects, tadpoles and even small fish before. However, since mice are biologically closer to humans this particular study is very significant. In the future, studying how weightlessness affects bone loss in mice can help prevent the bone loss problems encountered by astronauts who spend long periods of time in space.

The post Who Moved My Cheese? Lab Mouse Levitated With Magnets first appeared on Gajitz.