Chapter II

Review of Related Literature

Sadiku and Akujuobi (2006) reiterated that magnetic levitation is a way of using

electromagnetic fields to levitate objects without any noise. It employs diamagnetism, which is

an intrinsic property of many materials referring to their ability to temporarily expel a portion

of an external magnetic field. As a result, diamagnetic materials are repelled by strong magnetic

fields. This repulsive force, however, is very weak compared with the attractive force due to

magnetic fields. Maglev is the means of floating one magnet over another. This maglev system

is divided into two types attractive systems and repulsive systems, which are referred to as

electromagnetic suspension and electrodynamics suspension. Thus many countries spend

billions of dollars to use this maglev system.

Magnetic levitation, also known as maglev is used to levitate objects in air without any support,

using magnetic field. All magnets, whether natural or electromagnets, have two poles. We all

known that like poles repel and unlike poles attract. Magnetic levitation is the product of the

repulsion generated as a result of two magnetic fields. An object is said to be levitated when

the force created by electromagnetic repulsion equalizes the weight of the object. Technically,

it’s the electromagnetic force counteracting the gravitational force. Maglev train is a famous

application of the maglev technology. Almost all the prominent countries have these trains as a

major mode of transport in their system. Apart from this, maglev objects are also quite famous
and are available in all the markets. Some of the famous maglev objects are maglev toy train,

maglev toy cars, maglev clocks, maglev lamps etc. (Raunekk, 2009).

On average, every square meter of Earth's surface receives 164 watts of solar energy (a figure

we'll explain in more detail in a moment). In other words, you could stand a really powerful

(150 watt) table lamp on every square meter of Earth's surface and light up the whole planet

with the Sun's energy! Or, to put it another way, if we covered just one percent of the Sahara

desert with solar panels, we could generate enough electricity to power the whole world. Solar

power is arguably the cleanest, most reliable form of renewable energy available, and it can be

used in several forms to help power your home or business. Solar-powered photovoltaic

(PV) panels convert the sun's rays into electricity by exciting electrons in silicon cells using the

photons of light from the sun. This electricity can then be used to supply renewable energy to

your home or business (Woodford, 2018).

According to Katsaro (2011) many use fuel lamps that burn kerosene, which is costly, dirty and

can also be unhealthy. Solar powered lights are a cost-effective solution for illuminating

outdoor areas. One of the biggest advantages of solar lights is that they are self-sufficient and

do not add to your electricity bill. They also do not require electrical wiring or the services of an

electrician for installation. Most solar lights can be installed by the average home handy

person. The technology for solar powered lighting is rapidly improving. Solar lights are now

more attractive, brighter and more efficient.

The light bulb is not the same as most light bulbs. Inside it, there are magnets and circuitry

hidden away. It’s not an easy task and there’s a lot of fiddling and creativity to accomplish the

work. There are three important systems that must be examined and tweaked before you can

levitate a light bulb. The first is something called a matched resonant transformer. This

wirelessly transmits power from a drive coil to a receive coil, at approximately 6 inches away.

The second area to play with is a sensor system. This system gets rid of lots of the common

problems that occur in magnetic levitation sensing. The third is a feedback control system,

which lets Jeff smoothly levitate a magnet in a fixed position by using the sensor

system designed earlier. The end result is that the light bulb floats and remains stable, while

power gets wirelessly transmitted from the base of the sculpture into the bulb. Light emitting

diodes (LEDs) in the bulb harness the power of alternating currents (ACs) and convert them to

light. Jeff likens the power transfer function to that of radio station tuning, which allows power

transmission through the air (Lieberman, 2007).

Geim, Simon, Boamfa & and Heflinger (1999) states that 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.