I just knew it. The secret to something like levitation had to lie with Quantum Mechanics. Researchers at the University of St Andrews in Scotland have worked out how to reverse the Casimir force so that it repels instead of attracts. Right now, they’ve shown how to apply this knowledge to levitate things mainly at a nano level, particularly in nanomachines where the Casimir forces causes problems with the tiny objects sticking to each other.
They’ve said that in principle, this technique could be applied to larger objects, but note the key phrase ‘in principle‘. In other words, don’t hold your breath waiting for your ACME Home Levitation Kit. What does this mean for gadgets? Well, it will probably mean that another barrier in the quest to get smaller and smaller will come down eventually.
Ok, cool. So when can we expect the transporter ? 😉
via Telegraph.co.uk.