Indoor Navigation via Earth's Magnetic Fields

Outdoor navigation has now become something so common that is no longer admired in awe by those that remember the times when having a (costly) GPS receiver was something only within reach for those with a fat wallet - and I'm talking those receivers that simply gave you a set of coordinates and nothing else.

Today, even the most lowly smartphone can provide you with accurate GPS information, that can guide you all the way across the world, with high resolution satellite imagery and maps. But all that doesn't serve you much once you enter a building and the faint GPS signals become useless for accurate positioning.

But, some companies are using a different approach. An approach that has been tried and tested for millions of years by nature itself, guiding birds across thousands of miles in their migratory routes: magnetic fields.
Using Earth's magnetic fields and the interference caused by man-made buildings and structures, Indoor Atlas has come up with a system that can guide you indoors.

And as you can see in the following video, it seems to work rather well.

ZeroN: Interactive Magnetic Levitation

Now matter how much advanced technology we're surrounded by these days, there are still areas that still seem like "magic". At least, that's how I feel when we start digging into the magnetism area, and find things like quantic super levitation.

This ZeroN might now go as far as those superconductive magnets, but being able to levitate (and record and replicate movement in mid air) a small metallic sphere, still falls under the same "mesmerizing" category.

Thr "trick" is achieved with an advanced magnetic control system that continuously adjusts its parameters in order to make the object float and move around in a 3D space. Add some cameras and projectors, and the recipe is ready for the amazing results you can see in the following video.

Super Quantum Levitation

Who doesn't remember playing around with magnets - and inevitably trying to make one levitate over the other by carefully aligning them (without much success I'm afraid)?

Well, if you thought those magnetic experiments were cool, just wait and see what you can get when you throw superconductors into it.

Welcome to the world of quantum super-levitation. A world where you can "freeze" a object in place - in mid air - and... well, it really must be seen to be believed.

(I guess physic classes would attract a lot more interested students if teachers showed them this experiment in class rooms around the world... :)





If you want to know more about how that's possible check out the following video and the quantum levitation website.

How the iPad 2 Smart Cover Works

For lots of people, the most intriguing thing about the iPad 2 annoucement were the mystifying Smart Covers. These covers seem to have a life of their own, automagically attaching itself to the new iPad, and even being able to suspend/wake it.

Thanks to some teardown and dissection, you can now discover how the "magical" iPad 2 magnetic smart cover works, and find out there really isn't anything magical about it. It's all done with 21 simple magnets.

And no... You cannot use these magnetic smart covers with your old iPad.

Magnetic Effect on a CRT

Though we now live in a world where LCDs and Plasmas are now relatively common, just a few years back CRT screens were the norm.

The image was created by carefully manipulating a magnetic field to guide an electron beam to the screen.
If you happen to introduce a strong external magnetic influence... the result is this:


MIT TEch TV video.

Maglev Toy Train

Back in my day trains used to run with its wheels on the ground, but thanks to the mysterious secrets of magnets and superconducting materials, trains can now not only run without any wheels... they don't even need to touch the ground, levitating just above its rails: these are known as MagLev trains.

Just watch it on video:



I don't know why, but I suddenly feel the urge to unpack some toy trains from my younger days. :)

via [Boingboing]