[stavros]

> It's hard to imagine how this could be faked short of digital manipulation

So, it's easy to imagine how this could be faked.

[ynniv]

It can easily be faked, using a technique that would destroy the poster's career. It's one thing to not do something to the letter, and another to commit blatant fraud. Most career academics would not burn their career for the lulz.

[stavros]

It's an anonymous video.

[throwawaymaths]

I think it would be tough for a lay scientist to go from 0 media expertise to faking it this quickly.

[marcosdumay]

I guess the point is, it can be a fabrication, it can be something very important, and it can't really be anything in between.

[ncr100]

Alternatively, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrolytic_carbon is discussed in the Twitter thread by the OP as a possible explanation of "not superconductivity" . . .

[cthalupa]

Not an expert, but my understanding is that magnet configuration could not create a stable levitation for pyrolytic graphite - you need an array of magnets, e.g. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1010/1010.5761.pdf

Doing a quick sanity check on youtube videos, every example I can find of it levitating involves use of magnet arrays as well.

[semajian]

Well, yes

[stavros]

I'm holding a small basket until one of the reputable labs reproduces this. Anonymous videos on Twitter are a bit too anonymous for me.