Is it Time for a Magnetic Floating Bed? 133
An anonymous reader writes "In one of the coolest implementations of ridiculously expensive tech to come along in a while, it seems that a Dutch architect has created a magnetically suspended bed. That is, if you happen to have a spare $1.54 million laying around you don't know what to do with and don't mind being careful about your piercings when getting the cat from under the bed."
Worth the money... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Worth the money... (Score:1)
Re:Worth the money... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Worth the money... (Score:2)
Err... it could very well still squeak, if it's got a spring mattress.
Of course, I'd expect a bed this expensive to use that "space-age" memory foam stuff.
Re:Worth the money... (Score:2)
Re:Worth the money... (Score:2)
In that case you would probably want a (somewhat) flexible platform, too -- a "thinnish layer of padding" on top of a rigid platform suspended on a magnetic field is no different than one resting directly on the ground. In other words, box springs exist because each separate spring can absorb different amounts of force, and there's nothing inherent in the design of this bed that replicats that.
Re:Worth the money... (Score:2)
Re:Worth the money... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Worth the money... (Score:1, Redundant)
Instead it makes an electrical pulsing/humming noise that seems to get louder and louder...
Re:Worth the money... (Score:2)
What's with this strange notion of chairs floating in space I keep getting?
Kinda disappointing (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
-Jar.
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
I'm not sure if what I'm thinking of isn't called adamant, though. Wikipedia has only a stub listing fictional references.
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:1, Interesting)
Actually a glass, but black, volcanic, and used as a gemstone (and historically used as blades for weapons, now used in surgical scalpels too, according to the Wikipedia).
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
Unfortunately they're all conductive so they'll heat in a changing field.
Anatomy of piercings (Score:2)
and unlike earrings, most of them have non-metallic decoration (plastic colored beads that double as nut to close the hole in the ring, or the extremities in case of open piercing, once it is in place).
This makes them poor induction heating targets and completly unable to be repelled like a Tesla coils in alternating magnetic field.
Some cheap earrings may be made of ferromagnetic material but it isn't advisable to wear the
Re:Anatomy of piercings (Score:2)
Metal parts ARE build with aluminium (Score:2)
The magnetic field isn't varying that much around the nominal range of the MRI (the gradient used to do signal localisation doesn't from go 0 to 3Tesla, it only oscilliates closer around 3T), the rest of the thermal energy comes from the radiowaves (the Lamor frequency depends of the field and is ussually in the range of Mhz).
Therefore most of the met
Re:Metal parts ARE build with aluminium (Score:2)
Somewhere else (apparently) I commented that if you were to lay in the scanner (we were actually talking about a 400 MHz or 9.4T one), lie about your weight (to fool the safeties) and run an EPI sequence, you might well feel your piercings heating up. In fact, you'd find yourself heating up. If you were to run around a magnet with a decently high field you'd feel a tug on your piercings so long as they were made of ANYTHING conduct
Me jealouse (Score:2)
Life is a big, big, big injustice.
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2, Funny)
Obligatory cold water note (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
I can see many advantages to this vs the magnetic bed
a) no giant magnet to pay for
b) no giant electricity bill
c) no 1.2 mn Euros bill (for 5K max you'd get my version)
d) no bed bugs making their way from the floor.
No if they knew how to stabilise the bed without cables than I would be really impressed wnd would STFU.
Until
Preventing evil parasites from getting to bed (Score:1)
But still, I'm not sure I like your solution either. Ants can still come from the ceiling. One of them woke me up yesterday.. maybe it's a hint I should wash the floor.
Anyway, I think the best solution would be a personal laser bubble, similar to the one mentioned here [slashdot.org] (but smaller). It will destroy any nasty insect getting near me, and will take care of mosquitos as well (damn t
Re:Preventing evil parasites from getting to bed (Score:3, Interesting)
Ah, that explains the price tag -- permanant magnets are much more expensive, aren't they?
Now, what I would have done is used an elecromagnet for the base, made it concave so that it wouldn't need wires for stability, and wired the whole thing through a dimmer switch (or similar device) so that would have adjustable height.
Not only would it be much cheaper, but with a good cont
Re:Preventing evil parasites from getting to bed (Score:2)
The idea would be to have opposing magnetic forces on each side, so that if you push it in any given direction and then let go the magnetic force in that direction would be weaker (because it decreases with distance) and the force in the opposite direction would be stronger. This difference of forces would push the bed back to the center.
Now, you're correct that this wouldn't be "truly stable" because it would still be possible to push the bed out of position, and it would undergo a damped oscillation as i
Re:Preventing evil parasites from getting to bed (Score:2)
That's what I thought a concave base would accomplish. The middle part of it would be the part that stops downward movement, gravity would stop upward movement, and the edges would act like the cylinder you mention and stop sideways movement.
Actually, now that I think about it maybe the reason my suggestion seemed not to work is that I failed to mention that the base would be significantly wider than the bed. Knowing that, does it make more sense?
What about a superconductor base? (Score:2)
When you put a magnet over one it is stabilised without active control. IANAP (i am not a physisist) but it has something to do with induced currents opposing motion (lorenz?)
Liquid nitrogen cooled ceramics might be cheeper if you could build and fire a piece that size... they do have prototype *trains* that run on them after all, so maybe it isnt that 'out there'
Have seen pictures of frogs being levitated without
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
I've got the answer to that, and it's stupidly easy: Instead of using a flat magnetic base, use a concave one. That way it would have opposing magnetic forces around the edges, always pushing the bed towards the center.
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
Are you sure however that there is no way in hell I could move it while jumping on the bed or else?
I mean having a 2 ton piece of stone falling with/over you is gonna leave a mark..
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
That would depend on how concave you decided to make it -- the steeper the gradient, the more force would be required to overcome it.
By the way, I don't think the bed is actually "a 2 ton piece of stone;" it's just finished to look like it.
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
Ah, I think I understand. If the force from each magnet was only in the direction the magnet was pointing, the field would be concave like the arrangment of magnets and everything would be fine. But since each magnet creates a field, the fields combine and cause the total field to be convex instead of concave.
Right?
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2, Informative)
And because it's suspended by wires from the floor to resist the magnetic force makes it totally different than if it were suspended by the same wires from the ceiling, to resist the gravitational force.
About $1,539,900 different.
Or you could just buy a Mayan style hammock, the most comfortable sleep in the known universe.
KFG
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:3, Insightful)
A pizza and a bottle of coke to the first slashdotter who builds a wireless floating bed under $500.
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:1)
I'm Pepsi generation with celiac disease. I'm out.
What'll ya give me for just duplicating his effort for $500 in a damned sight less than six frickin' years?
KFG
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:1)
What you need:
8 water cooler jugs
lots of duct tape or glue.
What to do:
1.Empty the jugs if they aren't already empty.
2.Seal the jug, make sure its good and tight and/or permanent by using ducttape/glue
3.Attach the jugs to the bottom of your bed.
4.throw your bed into a pool/lake/pond, do not throw it in a river or ocean because you may wake up in a far away land.
And there you have it, a floating bed for about $50.00 assuming that you already have a bed and a body
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
You can make it stable by using electromagnets and closed-loop feedback.
Re:Kinda disappointing (Score:2)
I'm actually surprised that they weren't able to anchor it using magnets alone. For 1.5 million...
Won't stop bugs anyway (Score:2)
Who is ever gonna buy it? (Score:1)
Re:Who is ever gonna buy it? (Score:1)
Homer: I sleep in a big bed with my wife.
Kirk: (dejected) Oh, yeah.
boring (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:boring (Score:5, Informative)
Re:boring (Score:2)
Maybe thats why there is a link "why a frog". They started experimenting on some weird looking french guy. Looks a bit amphebic to me though...
Re:boring (Score:5, Funny)
Make sure your multivitamin supplement has lots of iron.
let me be the first to say (Score:5, Funny)
Re:let me be the first to say (Score:2, Funny)
Whats the likelihood of there being sex in the first place?
Re:let me be the first to say (Score:2)
Why would a magnetic bed be a problem for my rubber love doll?
Now bringing my laptop to bed to surf for pr0n while masterbating in bed would be a problem....
Re:let me be the first to say (Score:2)
I want a steamy little Jewish Princess (Score:2)
-- Frank Zappa, "Jewish Princess"
'cause you know kids these days have no idea what you meant by that...
C'mon, it's Reuters we're talking about... (Score:5, Funny)
It still needs bedclothes (Score:5, Funny)
"with a price tag of 1.2 million euros" [...] "It is not comfortable at the moment," admits Ruijssenaars, adding "it needs cushions and bedclothes before use."
I can see this. You buy the bed, add some bedclothes and walk to the counter.
Cashier: "That'll be 1.2 mln euro's, plus 20 for the bed clothes"
Scary! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Scary! (Score:2)
Re:Scary! (Score:1)
But you would never go Back!
Re:Scary! (Score:2)
Ejection (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ejection (Score:1)
Re:Ejection (Score:2)
And instead of flinging you straight up, what if it slowly elevated one end? Would it then be an erection bed?
Re:Ejection (Score:1)
Seriously, can anyone of you physics geeks make a rough estimate of how deadly this would be to hardware? I imagine the field would have to be very strong in order to lift person, frame, bedclothes, upper set of magnets, teddy bears and hooker.
I don't plan to spend 1,2 megadollars, but the idea is fairly basic and should be easily/cheaply copied.
Re:Ejection (Score:2)
Computer hardware isn't really that sensitive. I worked in a lab where CRTs were a constant pain because they'd gauss up really fast from the mobile MR scanner upstairs. LCDs were no problem though, and the hardware had no problems at all.
It is true that one LCD monitor didn't like being put in close proximity to the scanner though....
Re:Ejection (Score:2)
Underwhelming (Score:4, Informative)
Okay, so some guy with a slick-sounding name took a sheet of plywood, a whole bunch or permanent magnets, some steel cabling, and put them together. When I first heard about this over a week ago, I didn't bother to RTFA and assumed there were no cables. That actually impressed me, the thought he solved the problem of movement along the field lines using just magnetism. I had thoughts of some sophisticated system of electromagnets continually detecting and adjusting the field to keep the bed aligned, or at least some sort of damping configuration to justify the absurd price!
But no, as usual, it's just another laughable device to separate scientifically-ignorant wealthy people from their money.
I hope he patents it! LOL
Re:Underwhelming (Score:1)
Re:Underwhelming (Score:1)
Oh sure, you put it that way to put him down, but really, his accomplishment is far greater than that:
He used two sheets of plywood and a tuba quartet for spacers. That implies actual carpentry, for sufficiently small values of carpentry.
And don't forget the spray painting. That Rustoleum is tricky stuff.
KFG
Re:Underwhelming (Score:5, Funny)
I hope he patents it! LOL
I tried patenting separating the ignorant from their money, but apparently there was some prior art.
Earthquakes (Score:2)
Old Fashioned (Score:2)
Re:Old Fashioned (Score:2)
First and foremost among these, people sweat. Even under normal conditions, people sweat while sleeping. In summer when its warm, when the people engage in uhm... 'exersize' and so they sometimes sweat quite a bit.
Fact; a watermatress prevents ventilation, it prevents moisture from escaping your bed trough the matress. Which means you're a lot more uncomfortable.
Fact; mites and stuff that likes to live in beds (e
Magnetic field? (Score:2)
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:3, Informative)
As for the magne
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
Eh? Last time I ch
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
I think your second reason is valid, but not the first. Very often the power lines in question are long-distance transmission lines, which can often be found in every sort of area (commercial, residential, rural,
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
Re:Magnetic field? (Score:2)
I wonder (Score:1)
Great Scott! (Score:2, Funny)
The reason why (Score:1)
Re:The reason why (Score:4, Insightful)
Nothing's perfect.
Re:The reason why (Score:1)
Works for me.
KFG
Re:The reason why (Score:2)
Re:The reason why (Score:2)
Re:The reason why (Score:2)
While you have a point, and Japanese DO take precautions to keep those nasty bugs out of the bed, you are slightly wrong in two aspects there. One, where ever I have been in Japan, I hardly ever saw someone beating the shit out of their futons (bad pun, I know, however, intended none the less). They do (occasionally) hang them out to dry, that's r
We dont need new beds? (Score:1)
I hate to rain on the parade... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I hate to rain on the parade... (Score:2)
A permanent magnet bed isn't going to be much fun though.
The best part (Score:3, Funny)
Hot tip (Score:1)
Doh!
Like Dick Tracy said (Score:2)
How do you... (Score:2)
I'd prefer Niven's sleep fields (Score:2)
The effects of gravity are still felt by a sleeper on this "mag-lev" bed, so it doesn't really do anything for your ability to sleep, it just has a cool furniture factor.
um, hello? (Score:2)
Cancer?
Hello?