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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

How does a cylinder levitate? Scientists explain the maths behind the magic

A model shows how a spinning cylinder can stay suspended in the air next to an oil-slicked moving belt.
A video of the cylinder-levitation experiment.

You spin me ’round: a cylinder hovers next to a greased belt moving at just the right speed. Credit: M. P. Dalwadi et al./J. Fluid Mech.

An oil-coated belt run like a vertical treadmill can levitate a cylinder held next to it. Now researchers have developed a mathematical model to explain this goopy form of anti-gravity.

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Nature 593, 170 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01216-3

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