Magnetic levitation experiments in Tohoku University

Magnetic levitation experiments of some diamagnetic materials in high magne tic fields have been done by using a hybrid magnet of Tohoku University. Wa ter located near the edge of the water-cooled magnet, for example, becomes a globe and levitates when a held at the center of the magnet is above 20.5 T. As the first application of water levitation, we tried to make an ice c rystal at the levitating condition and it turned out that the crystallizati on process shows complicated and strange behavior at supercooled -10 degree s C. Synthesis of a dendrite ice crystal was also tried and it was first fo und that the directions of growing branches are different. But this effect seems to be not due to the levitation effect but due to the orientation eff ect. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.