For some time reports of crashed discs included information about the metals found in the wreckage. More than one report claims that bismuth is a primary component.  So we decided to do a little investigation, some additional research and find out just what the fuss about this unknown metal is really about.    It didn't take long before we were seeing some remarkable things and recreating some of the ``physics busters" ourselves.  This line of research has lead us into some amazing discoveries and branched into several different directions of research.      Best of all, its all based on real physics..... someone just forgot to tell us that these laws must exist and probably break a few while they are at it. Physicists tend to hate it when that happens.

This new field of study involves a little known property of bismuth called diamagnetism.  Which in simple terms means the ability to repel a magnetic field.   Yes, I know. You say, ``Can't two magnets repel each other already?"   They can, but have you ever tried floating one magnet on top of the other?   Who hasn't right?   Then you know it just won't work and Earnshaw's theorem states as much.  Bring two flat pieces of bismuth into the picture and suddenly Earnshaw's theorem isn't so sound.   Jimmie found a great article from Nature that describes the phenomenon:

``The stable levitation of magnets is forbidden by Earnshaw's theorem, which states that no stationary object made of magnets in a fixed configuration can be held in stable equilibrium by any combination of static magnetic or gravitational forces. Earnshaw's theorem can be viewed as a consequence of the Maxwell equations, which do not allow the magnitude of a magnetic field in a free space to possess a maximum, as required for stable equilibrium. Diamagnets (which respond to magnetic fields with mild repulsion) are known to flout the theorem, as their negative susceptibility results in the requirement of a minimum rather than a maximum in the field's magnitude. Nevertheless, levitation of a magnet without using superconductors is widely thought to be impossible. We find that the stable levitation of a magnet can be achieved using the feeble diamagnetism of materials that are normally perceived as being non-magnetic, so that even human fingers can keep a magnet hovering in mid-air without touching it." *1

While it's not exactly that simple to levitate a magnet between two pieces of bismuth, it's also not rocket science and the effort required to put the experiment together is nothing compared to the joy of watching a small magnet spin suspended in mid air for literally days on end in what seems to be perfect equilibrium.  In fact after playing with a version of this device we found that it literally took a benevolent act to send our little magnet flying to floor. (Jimmies dog Foxy was happy to assist in providing that distraction.)    The line of research that lead us to getting our own device brought about some discoveries.