[Pontiac]

The trick, he said, was to make a superconducting disc about a foot in diameter, chill it, levitate it over magnets… but Podkletnov specified 5,000 revolutions per minute. SCI's device barely pulls 30 rpm.

I am certainly not an expert on the latest developments in ceramics, but I see a 1-foot in diameter ceramic disk spinning at 5000 rpm flying apart like a cheap flywheel on a top fuel funny car.

[boris]

"I am certainly not an expert on the latest developments in ceramics, but I see a 1-foot in diameter ceramic disk spinning at 5000 rpm flying apart like a cheap flywheel on a top fuel funny car."

Strength is not the issue. It depends on the ceramic and the process. Some ceramics are very delicate; others are very strong. In compression ceramics excel. We had designs of ceramic turbine blades. The trick is to "pre-load" them in compression so that even spinning the overall stress is compressional. The same could be accomplished with a ceramic disk by wrapping the circumference in a very strong and tight band of metal. "Shrink-fitting" comes to mind: you make the band a bit too small and then heat it up. It expands. You insert the disk and let the band cool. It shrinks. Instant pre-load. Or--I am not certain--perhaps you need to pre-cool the ceramic and leave the band alone. But some combination will give you a tight shrink-fit and the desired stress pattern.

--Boris

[XBob]

aren't automotive turbochargers made with ceramic turbins?

[barkeep]

Strange you mention "flywheel on a top fuel funny car". Ceramic clutch plates have been around for a while and are easily capable of 5,000 rpm. Not to weigh in in favor of this dubious "anti-gravity" effect, but ceramics are capable of some amazing properties.