Demonstration of magnetic levitation of one of the new high-temperature superconductors - yttrium- barium- copper oxide (Y-Ba2-Cu3-O7-x). Discovered in 1986, the new superconducting ceramic materials are expected to lead to a technological revolution & are the subject of intensive worldwide research. The photograph shows a small, cylindrical magnet floating freely above a nitrogen-cooled, cylindrical specimen of a superconducting ceramic (made by IMI Ltd). The glowing vapour is from liquid nitrogen, which maintains the ceramic within its superconducting temperature range. Photographed at the University of Birmingham.