I am currently considering turning my fascination with magnets into a diy activity.
How feasible is it for a hobbyist to construct a working model of a maglev device? I'm looking to build something really small for now,just a demonstrative prototype that can hover over a surface.
I'm looking for a rough idea of cost, time and materials. Is it something that can be attempted while working a full time job?
Does anyone know of any good starting points in terms of literature?
Paradoxically, maybe the home-sized magnetic levitation could be a narrow area, where superconducting solutions could be cheap. I explain, why.
Although room-temperature superconductivity is a dream, room superconductivity is not. :-)
There are soon superconducting materials which can be cooled by liquid air, and they aren't even costly.
Liquid air is also relatively cheap. Maybe a liquid air processing machine were costly, but you don't need to buy that. Only to buy the superconducting alloy, and the liquid air (nitrogen). For the first, I tried ebay.
But, it depends what you want to reach. I once played chess with figures levitated by Meissner-effect.
The result could be:
