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Tiny Magnet Spins at Record 138 Million RPM
7 Nov
Summary
- A tiny magnet, hair-width wide, achieves 138 million RPM.
- It levitates in a superconductor trap with near-zero friction.
- Potential uses include dark matter searches and quantum technology.
Researchers have developed a levitating magnet that spins at an unprecedented 138 million revolutions per minute, making it one of the fastest rotating objects ever created and potentially visible to the naked eye. This remarkable achievement was accomplished using a tiny, 30-micrometre-wide magnet suspended within a superconducting lead container in a vacuum at extremely low temperatures.
The near-frictionless environment allows the magnet to maintain its incredible speed, with its rotation rate taking 17 days to halve, comparable to Earth's own spin. This stability and sensitivity to its surroundings position the rotor as a potential new sensor for vacuum conditions and a vital component for the development of quantum technologies.
Beyond practical applications, this ultra-fast spinning magnet is being explored for its potential in cutting-edge scientific research. Scientists believe it could serve as a platform for fundamental physics experiments, including the search for elusive dark matter particles and the detection of gravitational waves at novel frequencies. Its behavior at extremely low temperatures also opens avenues for exploring quantum mechanics and its interaction with gravity.
