instructables

ULTRASONIC LEVITATION Machine Using ARDUINO

by EDISON SCIENCE CORNER

It is very interesting to see something oating in the
air or free space like alien spaceships. that is exactly
what an anti-gravity project is about. The object
(basically a small piece of paper or thermocol) is
placed between two ultrasonic transducers which
generate acoustic sound waves. T he o bje ct o a t s
in the air because of these waves which seem to be of
anti-gravity.
in this tutorial, let's discuss the ultrasonic levitation
and let's build a levitation machine using Arduino

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTgBzRgAFNs

Step 1: How Is This Possible

ULTRASONIC LEVITATION Machine Using ARDUINO: Page 1

To understand how acoustic levitation works, you rst
need to know a little about gravity, air and sound.
First, gravity is a force that causes objects to attract
one another. An enormous object, like the Earth, easily
attracts objects that are close to it, like apples
hanging from trees. Scientists haven't decided exactly
what causes this attraction, but they believe it exists
everywhere in the universe.
Second, the air is a uid that behaves essentially the
same way liquids do. Like liquids, air is made of
microscopic particles that move in relation to one
of the bell moves back in, it pulls the molecules apart,
creating a lower-pressure region called a rarefaction.
Without this movement of molecules, the sound
could not travel, which is why there is no sound in a
vacuum.
a co us t ic le v it a t o r
A basic acoustic levitator has two main parts -- a
transducer, which is a vibrating surface that makes
the sound, and a re ector. Often, the transducer and
re ector have concave surfaces to help focus the
sound. A sound wave travels away from the
transducer and bounces o the re ector. Three basic
properties of this travelling, re ecting wave help it to
suspend objects in midair.
when a sound wave re ects o of a surface, the
interaction between its compressions and rarefactions
causes interference. Compressions that meet other
compressions amplify one another, and compressions
Step 2: Components Needed
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another. Air also moves like water does -- in fact, some
aerodynamic tests take place underwater instead of in
the air. The particles in gasses, like the ones that make
up air, are simply farther apart and move faster than
the particles in liquids.
Third, the sound is a vibration that travels through a
medium, like a gas, a liquid or a solid object. if you
strike a bell, the bell vibrates in the air. As one side of
the bell moves out, it pushes the air molecules next to
it, increasing the pressure in that region of the air. This
area of higher pressure is a compression. As the side
that meet rarefactions balance one another out.
Sometimes, re ection and interference can combine
to create a s t a nding w a v e . Standing waves appear
to shift back and forth or vibrate in segments rather
than travel from place to place. This illusion of
stillness is what gives standing waves their name.
Standing sound waves have de ned no de s , or areas
of minimum pressure, and a nt ino de s , or areas of
maximum pressure. A standing wave's nodes are at
the reason of acoustic levitation.
By placing a re ector the right distance away from a
transducer, the acoustic levitator creates a standing
wave. When the orientation of the wave is parallel to
the pull of gravity, portions of the standing wave
have a constant downward pressure and others have
constant upward pressure. The nodes have very little
pressure.
so we can place small objects there and levitate
 Arduino Uno / Arduino Nano ATMEGA328P
Ultrasonic Module HC-SR04
L239d H-Bridge Module L298
Common pcb
7.4v battery or power supply
Connecting wire.

Step 3: Circuit Diagram

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the working principle of the circuit is very simple. The
main component of this project is an Arduino, L298
motor driving IC, and ultrasonic transducer collected
from the ultrasonic sensor module HCSR04. Generally,
the ultrasonic sensor transmits an acoustic wave of a
frequency signal between 25khz to 50 kHz, and in this
project, we are using HCSR04 ultrasonic transducer.
This ultrasonic waves makes the standing waves with
nodes and antinodes.
this ultrasonic transducer’s working frequency is 40
kHz. So, the purpose of using Arduino and this small
piece of code is to generate a 40KHz high-frequency
oscillation signal for my ultrasonic sensor or
transducer and this pulse is applied to the input of
Step 4: Making the Transducer
First we need to desolder the transmitter and receiver
from ultrasonic module. Also remove the protective
cover then connect long wires to it. Then place the
transmitter and receiver one over the other
remember, the position of ultrasonic transducers is
very important. They should face each other in the
opposite direction which is very important and they
ULTRASONIC LEVITATION Machine Using ARDUINO: Page 4
duel motor driver IC L293D (from Arduino A0 & A1
pins) to drive the ultrasonic transducer. Finally, we
apply this high-frequency 40KHz oscillation signal
along with driving voltage through driving IC
(typically 7.4v) on the ultrasonic transducer. As a result
of which ultrasonic transducer produces acoustic
sound waves. We placed two transducers face to face
in the opposite direction in such a manner that some
space is left between them. Acoustic sound waves
travel between two transducers and allow the object
to oat.
please watch video for. More information everything
explained in that video
should be in the same line so that ultrasonic sound
waves can travel and intersect each other in opposite
directions. For this i used foam sheet ,nuts and bots
Ple a s e w a t ch t he m a king v ide o f o r be t t e r
unde rs t a nding
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Step 5: Programming

The coding is very simple, just of few lines. Using this little code with the help of a timer and interrupt functions, we
are making high or low (0 / 1) and generating an oscillating signal of 40Khz to Arduino A0 and A1 output pins.

download Arduino code from here

Step 6: Connections

connect everything according to the circuit diagram

remember to connect both grounds together

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Step 7: Important Things and Improvements
The placement of transducer is very Important so try
to place that in proper postion
We can lift only small pieces of lightweight objects
like thermocol and paper
Should provide atleast 2 amp current
Next i tried to to levitate big objects for that rst i
increase the no. Of transmittors and recivers that
ULTRASONIC LEVITATION Machine Using ARDUINO: Page 7
didint work. So next i tried with high voltage thats
also failed.
Improments
Later i understood i failed because of the.
Arrangement of transducers if we use multiple
transmitters then we should alian in a Curvy
structure.
Step 8: Thanks

Any doubts Comment it below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTgBzRgAFNs

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