Today, people use their keyboards to write more often than they use pens or pencils. If that doesn’t stop you from buying nice new pens, here’s a high-tech way you can display your favorite writing utensil using magnetic levitation:

Supplies:

  • Scissors
  • 6 Neodymium ring magnets
  • Super glue or tape
  • Pen or pencil
  • Foam board
  • Small piece of cardboard or equivalent material

Directions:

  1. First, thread your pencil through two ring magnets. Use the glue or tape to secure the magnets in place on either end of the pencil. Make sure the magnets are evenly spaced apart and measure the distance between them carefully.
  2. Next, keeping that distance in mind, insert the remaining four ring magnets into the foam board so that they’re still visible. Arrange them into rows parallel to each other. Make sure the space between the magnets matches that of the distance between the magnets on the pencil. If necessary, you can glue them in place. You also want to make sure the poles of the ring magnets in the foam are all facing the same direction.
  3. Use a small piece of cardboard as the headboard for your floating display. You can insert a small section at the bottom of the headboard into the foam to hold it in place.
  4. Now, put the tip of the pencil into the headboard to hold it in place. The magnets arranged in the foam should repel those on the pencil, making it float. If the pencil does not float as it should, you can adjust the arrangement of the magnets as needed and make sure the poles are facing the right direction.
You can display your writing utensils on your desk or give it to a friend as a gift. The foam and the cardboard can be painted or dressed up to look more professional or colorful depending on your preference. You can watch this video by Arvind Gupta to get a better understanding of how this science experiment works: