Physicists may have solved the mystery of levitation, figuring out how to make objects, and even people, float in midair. Star Wars aside, there really is such thing as the Force, that strange phenomenon holding molecules together that scientists call the Casimir force. Now British physicists are figuring out how to reverse that effect, making objects repel each other, and hope to first use the technique to reduce friction in nano machines, and someday maybe even levitate people.

It's done using a specially built lens that can reverse that Casimir force, making objects repel each other rather than attract. The researchers are also devising ways to throttle the force of attraction or repellence, a key factor in getting the tiny parts of nano machinery to work together with no friction. The lens's effects can be powerful even from long distances, opening up the possibility that some day levitation could be controlled from remote locations. These researchers could be in the process of changing the world. May the Force be with them.

Via Telegraph.co.uk