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Magnetic levitation
The reality: The simple principle behind it is that when like magnetic poles face each other, they oppose. Make the magnets really, really powerful and one magnet will make another opposing magnet float above it, even if the magnet above is carrying a huge load. The physics of magnet opposition is being exploited today in Shanghai, China, where city authorities are attempting to build one of the world's first maglev trains. Because the train floats on a cushion of magnetism, there is no friction, leading to great savings in energy. Faking it: You can't yet float a car in your garage, but you can make pellet-sized objects rise into the air, thanks to hobbyist superconducting magnets. These kits contain stuff such as rare earth magnets and liquid nitrogen so that mad-scientist types play with the weird science of the very cold and very powerful magnetic fields.
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