Electrostatic levitation is the process of using an electric field to lift a charged object and counteract the effects of gravity. It was used, for instance, in Robert Millikan's oil drop experiment and is used to suspend the gyroscopes in Gravity Probe B during launch. In physics, an electric field or E-field is an effect produced by an electric charge (or a time-varying magnetic field) that exerts a force on charged objects in the field. ... Electric charge is a fundamental conserved property of some subatomic particles, which determines their electromagnetic interactions. ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ... Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American experimental physicist who won the 1923 Nobel Prize for his measurement of the charge on the electron and for his work on the photoelectric effect. ... The purpose of Robert Millikans oil-drop experiment (1909) was to measure the electric charge of the electron. ... Gravity Probe B (GP-B) is a satellite-based mission to measure the stress-energy tensor (the distribution, and especially the motion, of matter) in and near Earth, and thus to test related models; in application of Einsteins general theory of relativity. ...

Due to Earnshaw's theorem, no static arrangement of classical electrostatic fields can be used to stably levitate an object. There is a point where the two fields cancel, but it is unstable. However, it is possible to use dynamically changing electric fields to hold an object in position. Earnshaws theorem states that a collection of point charges cannot be maintained in a stable stationary equilibrium configuration solely by the electrostatic interaction of the charges. ...

On the moon the photoelectric effect charges fine layers of dust on the surface forming an atmosphere of dust floating in "fountains" over the surface of the moon. Bulk silicate composition (estimated wt%) SiO2 44. ... The photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons from matter upon the absorption of electromagnetic radiation, such as ultraviolet radiation or x-rays. ...

See also

• Magnetic levitation
• Biefeld-Brown effect
• EHD thruster
• Lifter

Levitating pyrolytic carbon Magnetic levitation, maglev, or magnetic suspension is a method by which an object is suspended above another object with no support other than magnetic fields. ... The Biefeld-Brown effect is an effect that was discovered by Thomas Townsend Brown (USA) and Dr. Paul Alfred Biefeld (CH). ... EHD Thruster stands for Electrohydrodynamic thruster. ... For the ionic propulsion device, see Lifter (ionic propulsion device). ...

External links

• JLN Labs: Levitators
• Electrostatic levitator — Marshall Space Flight Center
• Electrostatic levitation raises dust particles off the surface of the moon
• Hybrid electric/acoustic levitation
• Electrostatic levitation and transportation of glass or silicon plates