I know what you’re thinking. “What’s that? That thing up there. What the hell is it? Seriously, I really need to know. It’s not funny, I’m freaking out here. TELL ME WHAT THE F*CK THAT THING IS RIGHT NOW!” I get that a lot. Thankfully, this time people aren’t talking about the tattoo of Guy Fieri on my forehead. What you’re looking at is a melting piece of aluminum floating in an electromagnetic induction heater. Here’s a video of it in action:
Yeah, it’s even cooler in motion. That 2.6 gram chunk of aluminum reached a temperature of 2192 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s 1200 C for you metric nerds) before they shut the machine off. That’s hotter than the center of a Totino’s Pizza Roll fresh out of the oven. (I’m not normally one to mention brand names, but the only thing sadder than eating Totino’s Pizza Rolls is eating off-brand pizza rolls.)
If you’re wondering how this works, it’s because the normally paramagnetic aluminum can gain diamagnetic properties when interacting with an electromagnet. While ferromagnetic metals like iron are attracted to magnets, diamagnetic metals repel them. Paramagnetic metals don’t usually interact with magnets (try picking up a piece of aluminum foil with a refrigerator magnet). Or, according to some scientists wearing clown paint, it’s a miracle. Enjoy this GIF of the Heavenly Father at work.
You can find a more in depth description about how the induction heater works, as well as instructions to build your own here.
Via Sploid