Controlled Quantum Levitation Used To Build Wipeout Track

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Controlled Quantum Levitation Used To Build Wipeout Track

Posted by timothy on Thursday January 5, 2012 @09:08AM from the why-youtube-exists dept.

First time accepted submitter gentryx writes "Researchers at the Japan Institute of Science and Technology have build a miniature Wipeout track (YouTube video) using high temperature superconductors and quantum levitation. Right now this is fundamental research, but in the future large scale transportation systems could be built with technology akin to this. I have a different vision: let Nintendo sell this as an accessory for the Wii U. I'd buy several of these tracks, let the gliders race through the whole house and track them on our TV!" Update: 01/05 22:08 GMT by S : As many readers have pointed out, this is CGI.

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Um? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 09:10 · Score: 5, Informative

Um... it's a confirmed fake?
1. Re:Um? by McDrewbs · 2012-01-05 09:49 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Even if the video itself was believable, which it wasn't. The youtube video has this snippet in the description. "(C) Copyright! All rights reserved belong to Sony Entertainment and SCE Studio Liverpool." Little bit of a give-away and all it took was a little reading.
2. Re:Um? by Zelucifer · 2012-01-05 10:03 · Score: 2
  
  The technology exists though and from what I've seen isn't incredibly difficult (although I may be misinformed) to replicate, so I have to wonder why they didn't do so.
  
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  The corner of a round room
Sorry to break this, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 09:10 · Score: 5, Informative

...the video is a fake. I'm amazed that OP didn't catch this, and I'm amazed it fell through the cracks and ended up on the front page. Seriously, just look at the CGI effects.
1. Re:Sorry to break this, but... by g0bshiTe · 2012-01-05 09:45 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  @ 1:14 you can see the smoke going through the curve on the track.
  
  --
  I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
2. Re:Sorry to break this, but... by mortonda · 2012-01-05 10:14 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  The real quantum levitation doesn't need that throttle, just give a push and it would skim around really fast. That doesn't even look right. The real thing is much smoother: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws6AAhTw7RA
3. Re:Sorry to break this, but... by w_dragon · 2012-01-05 14:45 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Dry ice is generally around -78C before sublimating, while liquid nitrogen is something like -200C when it evaporates. I don't think we yet have superconductors that can get hot enough for dry ice to be sufficient cooling. Thankfully we've moved from liquid helium (gas at -270C) to nitrogen, which saves a bunch of energy, so maybe one day we'll get there, but not yet.
4. Re:Sorry to break this, but... by locketine · 2012-01-05 18:28 · Score: 2
  
  Thanks for actually pointing out something tangible that is wrong with the video.
  
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  Think globally but act within local variable scope.
THIS IS FAKE by cultiv8 · 2012-01-05 09:11 · Score: 5, Informative

It's a trailer for a movie. Jesus people do your homework.

--
sysadmins and parents of newborns get the same amount of sleep.
Slashdot trolled by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-05 09:11 · Score: 5, Informative

Yep, you lose slashdot. This is a troll. If it was controlled levitation the rotation of the vehicles would be fixed to their original position, and would not rotate to match the track.
1. Re:Slashdot trolled by gtirloni · 2012-01-05 09:20 · Score: 2
  
  When I saw this a few days ago, it was so obviously clear that it was a fake that I didn't bother to watch until the end.
  
  And now it shows in Slashdot. Jesus.
  
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  none
2. Re:Slashdot trolled by skids · 2012-01-05 13:45 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Depends whether the hypothetical field was a trench. If the field bent with the track, then the flux-pinning would make it turn to the field closest to that which it had pinned to. The video is pretty believable in that sense, since the magnets appear to run the length of the track segments.
  Of course at that point, you wouldn't be able to change lanes.
  I think they did a pretty good job of making this look a lot like a real setup would have looked.
  
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  Someone had to do it.
How can you NOT spot that this is fake? by carlhaagen · 2012-01-05 09:13 · Score: 3, Insightful

The computer generated imagery and FX are so obvious. Also, there's no such thing as the Japanese Institute of Science and Technology (JIST). However, there is a Japanese ADVANCED Institute of Science and Technology - JAIST. How did this slip through and reach the front page? :)
1. Re:How can you NOT spot that this is fake? by donotlizard · 2012-01-05 09:23 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  There used to be the Toronto Institute of Technology and Science (TITS). I'm not sure what it's named now.
2. Re:How can you NOT spot that this is fake? by g0bshiTe · 2012-01-05 09:42 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Building Of Old Bad Science (BOOBS).
  
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  I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
3. Re:How can you NOT spot that this is fake? by SethJohnson · 2012-01-05 11:20 · Score: 2
  
  If there were a Japanese Institute of Science and Technology, would their logo be in English?
  Yeah. It might be.
  
  Seth
  
  --
  $5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
FAKE FAKE FAKE!!! by EmperorOfCanada · 2012-01-05 09:14 · Score: 5, Informative

The mist trails are all wrong. The car changes from when it is in the hand to when it is on the track. The lighting is wrong. The movement is wrong. I am not even sure the track is real.
Come all already by wideBlueSkies · 2012-01-05 09:18 · Score: 4, Funny

The only thing more embarrassing for /. for posting this obvious fake...well, it'll be when it gets reposted in 2 days...

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Huh?
Fake, but Quantum Levitation is real. by LikwidCirkel · 2012-01-05 09:26 · Score: 2

Even though this video is fake, the videos of guys with circular tracks that look like they're shot at trade shows are real. I actually kind of suspect that they tried to do this for real but it didn't work, so they created a fake video to spoof investors or other people whom were promised results.
1. Re:Fake, but Quantum Levitation is real. by amazeofdeath · 2012-01-05 09:56 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  "Quantum levitation" is just trying to make old superconductivity effects somehow sound even more cool. Try Meissner effect and flux pinning instead.
  
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  U+F8FF
Sorry! by gentryx · 2012-01-05 09:38 · Score: 4, Funny

...didn't know this was a fake. Kind of spoils the fun of having a ./ story posted for the first time. :-/
ps: I'm not affiliated with the creators of the video.

--
Computer simulation made easy -- LibGeoDecomp
1. Re:Sorry! by SurfMan · 2012-01-05 09:40 · Score: 2
  
  Also, while we're nitpicking, it's /. not ./ you insensitive clod!
2. Re:Sorry! by gentryx · 2012-01-05 09:47 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Oh noes, what a fail day! ^^ But if /. is my current working directory, then /. becomes ./
  
  --
  Computer simulation made easy -- LibGeoDecomp
3. Re:Sorry! by elsurexiste · 2012-01-05 11:15 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Kind of spoils the fun of having a ./ story posted for the first time. :-/
  Don't worry. Even if it had been authentic, someone would have thrown feces at it anyway. XD
  
  --
  I rarely respond to comments. Also, don't ask for clarifications: a brain and Google are faster, believe me!
What quantum levitation.? by frovingslosh · 2012-01-05 09:43 · Score: 2

That's pretty lame, the original post provides a link for "quantum levitation." that goes to a Wikipedia page that wants the user to choose between three different things. No reasonable poster would provide that link, if the poster wanted to link to Wikipedia he should have made the proper choice on the "Disambiguation page" and posted the link to the actual article. If I need to follow the link then one should assume that I don't have enough information to make the choice for myself.

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I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Why the Wii? by bananaquackmoo · 2012-01-05 09:53 · Score: 2

Nintendo is the wrong choice for a Wipeout track. You're looking for an FZero track. If you want a Wipeout track you have to use Sony, sorry.
They didn't actually do it? by Animats · 2012-01-05 09:55 · Score: 3, Informative

It's quite possible to do this. See this video of quantum-locked magnetic levitation. And this one, with an actual levitating skateboard.
It looks like the people behind this video cheaped out and didn't actually build the thing, which is lame.
1. Re:They didn't actually do it? by demonbug · 2012-01-05 10:09 · Score: 2
  
  More of same.
English, do you speak it? by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · 2012-01-05 09:59 · Score: 4, Funny

"Researchers at the Japan Institute of Science and Technology have build a miniature Wipeout track..."

Please. It's "have builded".