How effective are bases made with opposing magnets?
At first glance, a platform made by using opposing magnets would seem to be a good idea for vibration control. After all, there is no physical contact between the upper and lower sections of the platform so vibration should be completely stopped. Right? Well, no. That’s not right. When a platform or mount that uses opposing magnets does not have any weight placed upon it the magnets are at a natural distance from each other which is determined by the strength of their magnetic field. Pressing down a moderate amount on the upper section does show it to be rather compliant and probably would reject a decent amount of surface-borne vibration. But in actual use, a component with a fair amount of weight will load the top plate and bring the opposing magnets in much closer proximity to each other which will significantly increase the strength of their repulsion. The closer the top and bottom plates are to each other the “stiffer” the compliance of the platform will be and the less effective
