Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Boeing’s Phantom Works needed a way to power high-energy lasers — fast. Their solution? Flywheel energy storage. But the real breakthrough wasn’t just spinning a composite rotor at extreme speeds. It was making it float.
Using YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxide), a high-temperature superconductor cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures, Boeing leveraged flux pinning to create a magnetic bearing with virtually zero friction. The rotor locks in space with no contact, no wear, and almost no energy loss. The result? A nearly frictionless spinning battery capable of storing energy for hours.
#Flywheel #Superconductor #EnergyStorage #Boeing #Physics #CleanEnergy #engineering
Boeing’s Phantom Works needed a way to power high-energy lasers — fast. Their solution? Flywheel energy storage. But the real breakthrough wasn’t just spinning a composite rotor at extreme speeds. It was making it float.
Using YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxide), a high-temperature superconductor cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures, Boeing leveraged flux pinning to create a magnetic bearing with virtually zero friction. The rotor locks in space with no contact, no wear, and almost no energy loss. The result? A nearly frictionless spinning battery capable of storing energy for hours.
#Flywheel #Superconductor #EnergyStorage #Boeing #Physics #CleanEnergy #engineering
