Levitating Magnet Spins at 138 Million RPM
Researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore achieved the speed using a superconducting lead chamber cooled to near absolute zero.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Materials Science
Researchers have set a levitating magnet spinning at 138 million revolutions per minute. The spherical neodymium, iron and boron magnet, about 30 micrometres wide, was placed in a lead container inside a vacuum chamber cooled with liquid helium to approximately -269°C.
Why it matters
The platform could help builders of quantum computers and enable precise measurement of magnetic fields. It may also support tests of fundamental physics, including searches for dark matter effects.
Measured in a laboratory vacuum chamber cooled with liquid helium, the 30-micrometre magnet reached 138 million revolutions per minute and lost half its spin speed over 17 days. The extraction does not state the experiment's date, and the proposed quantum and dark-matter uses have not been demonstrated.
The players
Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Singapore's national agency for science and research funding, home to one of the research teams behind the experiment.
Ulm University
A research university in Germany whose researcher collaborated on the levitating magnet platform.
National Research Council of Italy
Italy's largest public research body, with a team member contributing to the work.
The details
The magnet levitates because the superconducting lead container expels its magnetic field, and a magnetic coil set it spinning. The team has also tested the rotor as a gauge of vacuum at very low temperatures.
The Big Picture
The experiment extends superconducting magnetic levitation, which earlier work used to suspend objects without contact, toward ultra-high rotation speeds. Its proposed use as a quantum-computing and dark-matter sensing platform places it within ongoing efforts to build ultra-sensitive measurement tools.
If the proposed quantum-computing and magnetic-sensing uses are realized, the platform could eventually inform more precise instruments for industry and research. The extraction notes these applications as projections only, with no timeline for commercial use.
The takeaway
Ultra-precise levitation experiments are beginning to test the limits of vacuum and magnetic measurement. Readers should watch for peer-reviewed results before assuming the proposed quantum and dark-matter applications will materialize.
Further reading
Explore more in Materials Science, where superconducting and magnetic materials are covered.
Source note: This article includes information reported by New Scientist.
