Diamagnetic materials receive a repulsive force in a magnetic field gradient. When this magnetic force balances with the gravitational force, it is possible to levitate the materials. The magnetic levitation is considered to be a quasi-microgravity condition because the counterbalance between the magnetic force and the gravity holds for each molecule consisting the materials. Therefore, the magnetic levitation enables containerless melting for materials synthesis. A containerless technique provides a clean environment free from contamination from a container. Suppressing uncontrollable heterogeneous nucleation, the liquid easily undergoes a supercooled or supersaturated state. In addition, a magnetic orientation effect is expected for materials with anisotropic susceptibility. Processing of materials under the magnetic levitation condition is expected to be a new technique for synthesis of novel materials. In this presentation, we report the several results of containerless melting experiments and precise measurements of diamagnetic susceptibility under the magnetic levitation condition.
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