We theoretically study the diamagnetic levitation and the thermal driven motion of graphite. Using the quantum mechanically derived magnetic susceptibility, we compute the equilibrium position of levitating graphite over a periodic arrangement of magnets, and investigate the dependence of the levitation height on the susceptibility and the geometry. We find that the levitation height is maximized at a certain period of the magnets, and the maximum height is then linearly proportional to the susceptibility of the levitating object. We compare the ordinary AB-stacked graphite and a randomly stacked graphite, and show that the latter exhibits a large levitation length particularly in low temperatures, because its diamagnetism is inversely proportional to the temperature. Finally, we demonstrate that the temperature gradient moves the levitating object towards the high-temperature side, and estimate the generated force as a function of susceptibility.

• Received 22 April 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.100.045405