While ball and roller bearings have been and remain one of the most important machine components, many are now looking for the next innovation. Similarly to what was seen in the Middle Ages there have been minimal industry-changes improvements to bearing technology since the 19^th century. As our society is in the midst of a new paradigm shift, bearing technology is one area in which great change is expected. This is likely to come in the form of Superconducting Levitation.

While rolling element bearings provided a huge decrease in friction between sliding surfaces, they do not fully eliminate the friction and wear. As machines continue to need to operate at faster speeds and for longer durations, bearings become one of the limiting elements. A better solution comes from being able to support a surface without any physical contact, which is what levitation offers.

Superconducting levitation makes use of electromagnetic fields and flux pinning/trapping to simultaneously attract and repel two magnets. The superconductor is cooled to very low temperatures to enhance its magnetic properties. The ferrous (magnetic) material that will be levitated is then brought into close proximity to the superconductor without contacting it. The magnetic flux “lines” between the two materials then become “pinned” and thus hold the ferrous material at an equilibrium distance, achieving support without a physical contact. This allows the supported material to accelerate quickly and travel almost infinitely (neglecting air resistance) from a single applied force.

The main limitation in superconducting levitation is the need to supercool the conductor. Advances in material science are enabling scientists and inventors to synthesize new materials that can display superconducting properties at closer to room temperature.

The video link attached shows and explains in greater detail how superconduction and superconducting levitation works.

https://youtu.be/Z4XEQVnIFmQ?t=47s

Source: 

Image: https://www.eng.ed.ac.uk/research/themes/applied-superconductivity