On Sat, Nov 14, 2015 at 12:25 AM, David Roberson <dlrober...@aol.com> wrote:
The loss in the current carrying magnet is due to series resistance and if > that resistance is eliminated it would not require any additional power > once the current is set up. > Consider this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh0bbW6S3BY Here the falling of a permanent magnet is slowed down as it falls through a copper pipe. As it falls, it is inducing a current in the pipe. My uninformed impression is that the only thing that is keeping it from falling faster is the resistance in the pipe to the flow of the current. If we replace the copper pipe with a superconductor, the magnet could then fall through as fast as gravity will accelerate it, will it not? If there is a current already set up in the superconductor, it would counteract the falling of the magnet, but this would be a matter of degree and not a permanent situation, or am I mistaken? Eric
