Who knows about Magnets?!?!

[Syncro325is]

Ok so I'm an industrial design student at Uarts in Philly, and I'm starting a new project using magnets in a chair. The use of the magnets is to create a "floating effect". One thing my professor wants me to do before I spend the money on a bunch of magnets to to figure out the physics of it. I have searched online and emailed a few companies(only to get no freaking responses) and I am still in the blue about what I want to know...

So what i need is a magnet setup where the push force would be able to support at least 200 lbs... Also any other information that you think is important about polarity and how far away from each other the magnets have to be before they start affecting the ones around them.

Figured that it was worth a shot posting it here, seeing as how most of you guys are brainiacs! Now deliberate!

[SamE30e]

Using opposing forces as a cushion?

[RickSloan]

Using opposing forces as a cushion?

yes, so magnets on the seat and magnets on the stand sorta thing

[Syncro325is]

yup thats the idea!

[AndrewBird]

Those will need to be some BIG magnets.

[love the booB5]

Those will need to be some BIG magnets.

yeah man those magnets are going to be pretty large. and expensive. is this a university funded project? if this is coming out of your own pocket, you may want to abandon the idea in exchange for something a bit easier and cheaper.

if you're hell bent on doing this though, you're going to need to control the orientation of these magnets and make sure they can only exert their opposing forces in one direction. the easiest way to do that is to limit your chair's moveability (for lack of the proper term) to one degree of freedom: up and down. you can do this with a male/female system with a pole or set of poles and collars that slide along the poles. orient the poles vertically with one magnet (or set of magnets) at the bottom and one magnet (or set of magnets) on the underside of the chair or on some frame below it.

this is going to require quite a bit of hardware and welding. if you're up to the challenge, more power to you, but I still think you'd be better off finding a more easily pursued project.

if you pull it off though, we need pics.

[kronus]

Actually, your task is impossible. Earnshaw proved, in the 1850's, that you cannot get stable levitation with static magnets, no matter how clever you are.

booB5 is right, though. Restricting motion to 1 dof would make it much simpler. However, keep in mind that magnets strong enough to accomplish what you're trying to do will be very dangerous - you can't make the magnetic field come out of only one side, and a magnet strong enough to support itself AND 200lbs can be lethal if you don't treat it right.

[Liam]

Jesus, don't wiggle around in that chair.

Could flip and smash your test subject.

[bimmers4life]

Use an elctro magnet. You could make one for dirt cheap. Well at least a lot cheaper than a rare earth magnet or something like that.

[Kruzen]

Be careful..

http://www.geekologie.com/2009/02/guy_loses_finger_to_neodymium.php

big magnets hurt and act very unpredictably

[AndrewBird]

Dude! Put a NWS on that link! That's NASTY.

[Syncro325is]

http://www.hoverit.co.uk/

Check out this chair, mine wont be very similar to this, but it will be using the same concept.

I have some crude designs drawn up, but I'm focused on knowing more about it before I finalize the design. I have been looking at neodymium magnets that are fairly small, and some have a pushing force of over 200lbs. But they are fairly pricey lol. I found a deal on flea bay where I could get 1600 ceramic magnets that are about 5/8's of an inch in diameter for 50 bucks. The ceramic magnets are less powerful, but I'm thinking quantity over quality for now...

The plan of the chair was in simplest terms two cylinders, one inside the other. That way it is contained. I'm also toying with a system for the magnets to be on the walls of the cylinders as well.

[Syncro325is]

Use an elctro magnet. You could make one for dirt cheap. Well at least a lot cheaper than a rare earth magnet or something like that.

I looked into that and talked to the professor... he said that it would lose all the ascetics if there was a cord. so that idea is out... unfortunately

[Syncro325is]

Be careful..

http://www.geekologie.com/2009/02/guy_loses_finger_to_neodymium.php

big magnets hurt and act very unpredictably

I don't believe that I'm gonna be using magnets with that kind of power. But holy hell that looks painful!

[Collin]

lobster sticks to magnet