Friday, September 11, 2009
Magnetically Levitating Mice
NASA has built a device that keeps mice floating to study the health effects of spaceflight.
By Brittany Sauser
A three-week-old mouse weighing about 10 grams is being levitated
by magnetic fields, either with a magnet (a) or without (b).
Credit: Da-Ming Zhu et al. |
NASA engineers have built a device that can suspend mice in the air for hours. The purpose is to understand how zero
gravity affects the bone density and muscle mass of astronauts.
The levitation device, built by Yuanming Liu and colleagues at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, uses a magnetic field that distorts the
movement of electrons in water molecules to let the mice float.
According to New Scientist:
[The researchers] used a purpose-built levitation device containing a coil of
wire, or solenoid, cooled to a few degrees above absolute zero so that it
became superconducting. Running a current through the solenoid creates a
magnetic field of 17 teslas, ten thousand times as strong as a typical fridge
magnet and 10 million times that of the Earth.
The researchers have shown previously that the device can levitate water-based items for hours, but were skeptical that it would be able to make a mouse, weighing10-grams, float for long periods of time. Yet, they were able to "fly" the mouse for hours, allowing it to roam freely, and giving it food and water.
The experiment is a significant step to study bone and muscle loss, and even changes in blood flow in zero gravity, which is a common problem for astronauts when they return for space missions or extended stays on the space station. Engineers have built exercise equipment to combat the losses, which can result in long-term health issues, but there has been limited ways to actually study zero-gravity effects on humans on Earth.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments
This could be an interesting technology to see advance once we are able to efficiently scale it up massively.
Shiladie
09/13/2009
Posts:55
Danieleveld
09/14/2009
Posts:17
For example, I think G-forces currently limit the terminal speed of a rotate-then-release bolas-type system where the tether density/strength and endurable centrifugal G-force together limit the maximum release velocity from the bolas (composed of craft-tether-counterweight), for human transport anyway.
Incidentally, this is a rather cool system as (after rotation has built up and on release) the craft can travel at constant velocity from a to b then stop immediately by converting the craft to another (half-sized bolas) and spinning it up en route to stop at b in a reverse of the release process, (with no greater G-force than that experienced during rotation), using an opposite release vector.
Add another couple of "nested" bolases (1/4 & 1/8th of the original mass) and you might even be able to return to a :)
Could it make a better air-bag?
In general also, could such a strong magnetic field protect against metallic fragments from Improvised Explosive Devices, etc by rapid (explosive?) deployment say underneath a vehicle at the right time, creating eddy currents in the fragments or something similar?
ideat
09/14/2009
Posts:1
Imagine a spacecraft or an airplane that will sustain a life human at 100 or more G’s.
The best trained pilot can sustain 10-15 G… after that … he can black out successfully or just die.
These technologies are for military THE thing that really can make a difference.
Nobody is going to space, everyone is preparing for the next war.
Handshake
09/14/2009
Posts:16
This technology would be great for creating a zero-pressure point sleeping system for those of us who bodies have begun to hurt at shoulders, hips and neck somewhere in the past four or five years.
Sleep well.
Carltoned
09/14/2009
Posts:1
Mapou
09/14/2009
Posts:66
If all it took to study micro-gravity was to suspend someone from wires for a few months, finding volunteers for that would be a lot cheaper than sending men up to the ISS.
djweber
09/14/2009
Posts:6
I like the post about using this for gravitational simulation. Instead of spreading the forces of magnetism around the subject, use them to bring the subject toward a focus. However, that kind of energy is a long way in the future.
Danieleveld
09/14/2009
Posts:17
Levitation done by a magnetic field IS zero gravity. Over 97% of the body mass is water so if the force of gravity on the water has been CANCELED out by magnetism then it is essentially weightless since there is Zero net force acting on the mouse. The difference is the cancellation has been distributed evenly if the water molecules gravitation pull has been negated by the magnetic force. Whereas if you were standing on the table, there is still a pull on all the masses in your body that you can feel.
Great idea by 'ideat'. In the absence of a force you could use this technology to produce artificial gravity, too.
doanwon
09/14/2009
Posts:15
snedunuri
09/15/2009
Posts:30
doanwon
09/15/2009
Posts:15
samurai.stew...
09/18/2009
Posts:4