L D X   :   T h e   L e v i t a t e d   D i p o l e   M o v i e

This movie is an artistic rendition of the levitated dipole concept. The central spinning torus is the levitated superconducting magnet. ("Why is it spinning?" you may ask. While we hope that LDX will not spin, we have little control of the spin if it starts. Furthermore, we know that the FM-1 superconducting levitron created at PPPL in the 1970's also spun.) The rotating hoops are representative of the magnetic field. The spacing of the hoops are suggestive of the high compressibility ration obtainable in a dipole field. There slow rotation might be suggestive of the slow paramagnetic drifts of the plasma (if you try real hard). The glowing yellow gas is, of course, the ignited fusion plasma surrounding the coil.

The movie was created on an Apple PowerMacintosh G3 using a 3D rendering program called "POV-Ray". You may download the movie in three QuickTime versions:

• QuickTime 2.x (900kB) (Cinipak)
• QuickTime 3.0 (1MB) (Sorenson)
• QuickTime 2.x (9MB). (no compression)