Everything is a little bit magnetic, says physicist Richard Hill, of The University of Nottingham. So with a powerful magnet, it is possible to levitate almost anything–strawberries, water, insects. In a recent study, Hill levitated fruit flies to see how they behaved when they didn’t have gravity pulling them down.
For more magnetic fun, check out this educational activity OR this one!
Credits
Levitation video courtesy of Richard Hill
Meet the Producer
About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.