Gravity from spinning superconductors? Maybe.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2006-03-23 06:06pm

Scientists funded by the European Space Agency have measured the gravitational equivalent of a magnetic field for the first time in a laboratory. Under certain special conditions the effect is much larger than expected from general relativity and could help physicists to make a significant step towards the long-sought-after quantum theory of gravity.

Just as a moving electrical charge creates a magnetic field, so a moving mass generates a gravitomagnetic field. According to Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, the effect is virtually negligible. However, Martin Tajmar, ARC Seibersdorf Research GmbH, Austria; Clovis de Matos, ESA-HQ, Paris; and colleagues have measured the effect in a laboratory.

Their experiment involves a ring of superconducting material rotating up to 6 500 times a minute. Superconductors are special materials that lose all electrical resistance at a certain temperature. Spinning superconductors produce a weak magnetic field, the so-called London moment. The new experiment tests a conjecture by Tajmar and de Matos that explains the difference between high-precision mass measurements of Cooper-pairs (the current carriers in superconductors) and their prediction via quantum theory. They have discovered that this anomaly could be explained by the appearance of a gravitomagnetic field in the spinning superconductor (This effect has been named the Gravitomagnetic London Moment by analogy with its magnetic counterpart).

Small acceleration sensors placed at different locations close to the spinning superconductor, which has to be accelerated for the effect to be noticeable, recorded an acceleration field outside the superconductor that appears to be produced by gravitomagnetism. "This experiment is the gravitational analogue of Faraday's electromagnetic induction experiment in 1831.

It demonstrates that a superconductive gyroscope is capable of generating a powerful gravitomagnetic field, and is therefore the gravitational counterpart of the magnetic coil. Depending on further confirmation, this effect could form the basis for a new technological domain, which would have numerous applications in space and other high-tech sectors" says de Matos. Although just 100 millionths of the acceleration due to the Earth’s gravitational field, the measured field is a surprising one hundred million trillion times larger than Einstein’s General Relativity predicts. Initially, the researchers were reluctant to believe their own results.

"We ran more than 250 experiments, improved the facility over 3 years and discussed the validity of the results for 8 months before making this announcement. Now we are confident about the measurement," says Tajmar, who performed the experiments and hopes that other physicists will conduct their own versions of the experiment in order to verify the findings and rule out a facility induced effect.

In parallel to the experimental evaluation of their conjecture, Tajmar and de Matos also looked for a more refined theoretical model of the Gravitomagnetic London Moment. They took their inspiration from superconductivity. The electromagnetic properties of superconductors are explained in quantum theory by assuming that force-carrying particles, known as photons, gain mass. By allowing force-carrying gravitational particles, known as the gravitons, to become heavier, they found that the unexpectedly large gravitomagnetic force could be modelled.

"If confirmed, this would be a major breakthrough," says Tajmar, "it opens up a new means of investigating general relativity and it consequences in the quantum world."

Sounds pretty out-there, but it'd be an amazing discovery if it pans out.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2006-03-23 08:05pm

Sweet, I can finally have that gravity plating I've been waiting for.

In all seriousness, proving with certainty that gravitons actually do exist is enough by itself to make this experiment important.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2006-03-23 08:41pm

So we have the idea of creating A/G fields via EM technology, and now creating actual gravity too. Rapid acceleration for spacecraft that need no propellant to escape gravity wells and inertial dampeners.

Might see a Wip3out racing league appear too.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2006-03-23 08:49pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:So we have the idea of creating A/G fields via EM technology, and now creating actual gravity too. Rapid acceleration for spacecraft that need no propellant to escape gravity wells and inertial dampeners.

Interestingly, this seems to conform to that stuff flogged about as 'Hyperdrive, whee!!!!!' by the media, as the science behind it was all about an electromagnetism/gravity hybrid.

Might see a Wip3out racing league appear too.

And the F-Zero tourney.

Zero · Post by **Zero** » 2006-03-23 09:11pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:So we have the idea of creating A/G fields via EM technology, and now creating actual gravity too. Rapid acceleration for spacecraft that need no propellant to escape gravity wells and inertial dampeners.

Might see a Wip3out racing league appear too.

It still would need some type of energy source to run the thing, and while the technology is primative enough, the old method using propellant for spacecraft and whatnot will probably still be more useful.

Still, that's awesome.

Solauren · Post by **Solauren** » 2006-03-23 09:39pm

Imagine if and overlapping AG and GM field created a FTL field by WARPING space....

Nah, that's just crazy

But, very very very cool

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2006-03-23 10:25pm

Interesting...this does sound, superficially at least, like it might tie in with that hyperdrive paper that was posted awhile back. It'd be very cool if it was on the money...

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2006-03-24 02:54am

So wait, it's a gyroscope? That's spins really fast and creates a gravitational field? A GYROSCOPE?

Anyone else immediately thought Event Horizon? Or had a flash of that dark matter gun from Quake 4? Or any other sci-fi work where a gyroscopic high-tech device did some really weird trick?

Interesting nonetheless.

Patrick Degan · Post by **Patrick Degan** » 2006-03-24 03:26am

Spindizzy.

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2006-03-24 04:40am

Ahhh, the spindizzy drive.

Set a course, dizzyness factor 9. Make it so.

wautd · Post by **wautd** » 2006-03-24 04:44am

Neat. So Ba'al torture techniques will finally be possible?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2006-03-24 10:57am

The two pre-print papers in question may be found here and here

Enola Straight · Post by **Enola Straight** » 2006-03-24 02:57pm

Here's a verifiable experiment that can be done bu just about anybody...with some simple lab equipment, of course.

Take a magnet and suspend a superchilled superconducting ceramic disk over it (essentially, the reverse of the normal setup). Take a piece of non-magnetic, non-conducting material...say, a one gram block of wood... to which is attached a potentiometer...a simple piece of string attached to a scale. Maneuver the test block till its about one centimeter above the stationary superconductor. The scale should still say one gram.

Take a superchilled jet of air or liquid nitrogen and aim it at the periphery of the disk to spin it up to 6,500 rpm. If the scale begins reading less (or more) than one gram, then something other than electromagnetizm is acting on the test block.

Anyone see a problem with this experiment?

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2006-03-24 04:10pm

Enola Straight wrote:Anyone see a problem with this experiment?

Besides wondering why you need a potentiometer, no.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2006-03-24 07:31pm

Braedley wrote:
Enola Straight wrote:Anyone see a problem with this experiment?
Besides wondering why you need a potentiometer, no.

I think he means a scale of some sort, but just got the terms confused.

Vejut · Post by **Vejut** » 2006-03-27 03:48pm

The immediate thing that occurs to me would be air currents caused by the spinning magnet...

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2006-03-27 04:43pm

It isn't hard to perform this experiment in a vacume. Some of the very first experiments into the value of the gravitational constant were conducted in near vacume. That was how many decades ago?

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2006-03-28 04:30am

You know, I remember that I had planned for a steampunk story in which there were anti-gravity machines that were spinning things. Knowning my propensity for misusing scientific terms, I could have ended up using superconducters in this device. I'm a genius.

TheBlackCat · Post by **TheBlackCat** » 2006-03-28 12:35pm

How, exactly, is this different from the now-discredited spinning superconductor experiments from several years ago?

Guardsman Bass · Post by **Guardsman Bass** » 2006-03-28 01:24pm

TheBlackCat wrote:How, exactly, is this different from the now-discredited spinning superconductor experiments from several years ago?

The earlier ones couldn't be duplicated.