"Our analysis shows that an unprecedented functional volume of over 4,000 micro-liters can be achieved in a compact coil with a diameter of only eight centimeters," said doctoral student Hamid Sanavandi, a co-author of the paper. They found that they could achieve this by integrating a superconducting magnet with a gradient Maxwell coil - a coil configuration that was first proposed in the 1800s by physicist James Clark Maxwell.
In order to increase the functional volume of an MLS, the researchers needed a magnet that would allow a uniform levitation force to be generated that would balance the gravitational force in a large volume.
Gravity lab simulation simulator#
When a typical simulator mimics an environment that is about 1 percent of Earth’s gravity, the functional volume is only a few micro-liters, too small for practical space research and applications. On the other hand, magnetic levitation-based simulators (MLS) can offer unique advantages, including low cost, easy accessibility, adjustable gravity and practically unlimited operation time.īut a conventional MLS can only create a small volume of low gravity. But these facilities typically have short low-gravity durations, i.e., several seconds to a few minutes, which makes them unsuitable for experiments that require long observation times.
Gravity lab simulation free#
Therefore, developing ground-based low-gravity simulators is important."Įxisting simulators, such as drop towers and parabolic aircraft, use free fall to generate near-zero gravity. "However, spaceflight experiments are often limited by the high cost and the small payload size and mass. "Low gravity has a profound effect on the behaviors of biological systems and also affects many physical processes from the dynamics and heat transfer of fluids to the growth and self-organization of materials," said Wei Guo, associate professor in mechanical engineering and lead scientist on the study. The work was published in the journal npj Microgravity. Their new design for a magnetic levitation-based low-gravity simulator can create an area of low gravity with a volume about 1,000 times larger than existing simulators of the same type. Researchers at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and FAMU-FSU College of Engineering have developed a new tool to help meet that challenge - a novel design for a low-gravity simulator that promises to break new ground for future space research. College Students & Early Career ScientistsĬontact: This email address is being protected from spambots.FSU Magnet Research & Development, Inc.
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