Quantum Physics and the Levitation of Nanomagnets

British mathematician Samuel Earnshaw proved that there is no configurable way to levitate permanent magnets, and if one magnet were to be levitating over another, the smallest disturbance will cause it to fall. Oriol Romero-Isart's research group from Innsbruck University and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information at the Austrian Academy of Sciences have shown that the gyrating motion of a magnetic top causes a system correction when the magnets are disturbed. Nano objects are in charge of this correction.

Albert Einstein and Wander Johannes de Haas found in 1915 that magnetism is a result of electron spin, which allows the levitation of a nano magnet in a stable electric field, which should be impossible according to Earnshaw's theorem. The researchers' studies showed that equilibrium was achieved when dissipation did not occur, which relied on the gyromagnetic effect. This effect stabilizes the magnetic levitation of the nano magnet.

Levitated nano magnets are a new field of experimental study that the team is excited to observe. Exotic quantum phenomena can occur during the experimentation of the nano magnets under unstable conditions. These levitated nano magnets can also be used for technological applications, like high precision sensors.

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