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From: throopw@sheol.UUCP (Wayne Throop)
Newsgroups: sci.physics,sci.bio
Subject: Re: Magnetic Levitation of Organic Materials
Summary: ooops... but wait!
Message-ID: <1714@sheol.UUCP>
Date: 17 Apr 91 01:50:25 GMT
References: <1689@sheol.UUCP>
Lines: 32

In article <1689@sheol.UUCP> I wrote:
> magnetic fields of between 1 and 2 trillion (as in 10^12) gauss.

Sigh.  Of course, this displays my abject inumeracy.  Apparently,
my memory substituted "teragauss" for "tesla".  Duh.  But then,
what's eight trailing zeroes between friends, eh?

Anyway, here's some hopably somewhat more correct information,
from several sources (including email corrections of my faulty memory
as I had requested... thanks all).

MRI involves fields of up to 5 tesla.  The strongest constant magnetic
field ever generated (according to the Guinness Book of World Records)
was about 35 tesla, at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory at
MIT.  There is some indication in the GBR entry that this 30+ tesla
field was applied to living tissue without causing it to be dead tissue,
but I can't really make out what was going on by the reference there. 
(Anybody out there know?)

So, we know people can stand up to 5 tesla without apparent ill effects
(though perhaps not totally without effect).  It is even possible that
*some* living things have been subjected to 30 tesla.

On the other hand, it *is* likely that at "high enough" magnetic fields,
things would start to fry, but it isn't clear at all how high is "enough".

And still, as far as I know, no organics levitated, even at 30+ tesla.

( Sheesh.  *tera*gauss.  What was I *think*ing?  What *planet* was
  my memory at... or maybe a neutron star... )
--
Wayne Throop  ...!mcnc!dg-rtp!sheol!throopw