If you know what I‘m talking about, can this actually levitate a magnet (so that instead of dropping down slowly, it levitates and stays still? Is this possible? on pedia (sometimes unreliable) it says that the neodymium magnet will drop down incredibly slowly, but it doesn‘t mention that it can levitate (even though it doesn‘t mention it can‘t), but on another website, it says that the magnet can levitate.
No. The passage of the magnet travelling down the pipe induces current flow in the copper of the pipe. This current flow in turn induces a magnetic field in the opposite direction to that of the magnet, thus slowing it. If the magnet where to stop moving there would be no induced current in the pipe, no resulting opposing magnetic field and therefore the magnet would start to drop again.
No. The passage of the magnet travelling down the pipe induces current flow in the copper of the pipe. This current flow in turn induces a magnetic field in the opposite direction to that of the magnet, thus slowing it. If the magnet where to stop moving there would be no induced current in the pipe, no resulting opposing magnetic field and therefore the magnet would start to drop again.
