What you just saw in the video above is a perfect demonstration of the quantum levitation effect, through a fairly simple set-up made by Tel Aviv University scientists, comprised of a track and a semiconductor.
A graphic representation of the flux tubes inside the superconductive material coated wafer. (c) Tel Aviv University
The quantum levitation is actually a perfect demonstration of the Meissner effect, which describes the expulsion of a magnetic field from a superconductor during its transition to the superconducting state. Because of this the superconductor will expel all the magnetic field from inside, however since the superconductive material is very thin, magnetic fields do actually penetrate, but at discrete levels called flux tubes, hence the quantum physics implications. Because of these tubes, superconductive is eliminated in grain bounderies, and thus spatially locks the material.
For this particular set-up, the Tel Aviv scientists used a ceramic material called yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa2Cu3O7-x ) to a ~1µm thick layer on a single crystal sapphire wafer. To reach its superconductive state (no resistivity and no energy loss), the scientists cooled the material to -185ºC. Experiments and demonstrations of the Meissner effect have been made numerous times in the past decades, however this particular demo shows how quantum gravitation can be achieved fairly easily, and hints of a quicker pace set to finally develop working applications that harness the effect.
