Electric Levitation Using Epsilon-Near-Zero Metamaterials

TL;DR

This paper proposes using epsilon-near-zero metamaterials to achieve electric field expulsion, creating a new method for levitation based on a classical analog to the Meissner effect, which is robust to losses and dispersion.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to electric levitation using epsilon-near-zero metamaterials, expanding the mechanisms beyond magnetic and chiral methods.

Findings

Epsilon-near-zero materials exhibit electric field expulsion similar to the Meissner effect.

The proposed mechanism is robust to material losses and dispersion.

Potential for stable electric levitation using designed metamaterials.

Abstract

Levitation of objects with action at a distance has always been intriguing to humans. Several ways to achieve this, such as aerodynamic, acoustic, or electromagnetic methods, including radiation pressure, stable potential wells, and quantum Casimir-Lifshitz forces, exist. A fascinating approach for levitation is that of magnets over superconductors based on the Meissner effect -the expulsion of the magnetic field by a superconductor. With the advent of metamaterials -designed structures with electromagnetic properties that may not be found in nature- we ask whether a material may be conceived exhibiting similar field expulsion, but involving the electric field. We show how a special subcategory of metamaterials, called epsilon-near-zero materials, exhibits such electric classic analog to the Meissner effect, exerting a repulsion on nearby sources. Repulsive forces using anisotropic and chiral metamaterials have been investigated, but our proposal uses a different mechanism based on field expulsion, and is very robust to both losses and material dispersion.