Legends abound of ancient people building their monumental megalithic structures by levitating the massive blocks into place. While such ideas don’t seem to have any real evidence to back them up, modern science has figured out one way to pull off this levitation ‘magic’: by using acoustic waves. Though, rather than 200 ton stones, researchers are using – rather disappointingly – styrofoam balls and water droplets.
Nevertheless, it’s a cool effect, and the science behind it is fascinating to boot. Destin Sandlin of the excellent Smarter Every Day YouTube channel walks us through it all in the embedded video above.
(h/t Kat)
