Motivation

WHAT?

Establish: long-term [> 1 - 10 min. , < 8 hrs. (or 3.5 days!)],

low gravity [< 10 - 100 milli-g , g » 9.8 m/s2 ]

Earth-based environment for:

(a) plant growth? (b) protein crystallization? other uses?

WHY? (Known to this audience!)

How?

Plants (i.e. mostly H2O), Proteins, Plastics, many others

are diamagnetic, so . . . . Try Magnetic Levitation!

Assume (initially) that magnetic fields and gradients:

(a) do not effect plant growth and development?

[O.A. Kuznetsov, K.H. Hasenstein, Planta 198 (1996) 87]

[K.H. Hasenstein, O.A. Kusnetsov, Planta 208 (1999) 59]

(b) might help self-assemble macromolecules?

Biophysical Effects of Magnetic Levitation:

"Magnetic Levitation of Xenopus laevis: Toward Low Gravity Simulation", J.M. Valles Jr. et al., Biophys. Jour. 73 (1997) 1130.

"Cleavage Planes in Frog Eggs Altered by Strong Magnetic Fields", J.M. Denegre et al., PNAS 95 (1998) 14729.