Non-contact conductivity measurement

1. A system for analyzing a material-under-test, comprising:

a support structure;

a mounted magnet mounted to the support structure;

a free-floating magnet disposed below the mounted magnet;

a diamagnet mounted to the support structure and positioned between the mounted magnet and the free-floating magnet such that the free-floating magnet floats in the air beneath the diamagnet;

a rotation detection assembly configured to project a laser beam to the free-floating magnet to detect a rotation rate of the free-floating magnet, the rotation rate increasing or decreasing based on a drag torque effect of a material-under-test on the free-floating magnet; and

a conductivity calculation unit in electrical communication with the rotation detection assembly, the conductivity calculation unit configured to calculate at least one of a conductivity and a resistivity of the material-under-test based on the detected rotation rate of the free-floating magnet,

wherein the free-floating magnet physically is not connected to the material-under-test and rotates independently with respect to the material-under-test.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the material-under-test is stationary; and

the conductivity calculation unit is configured to calculate at least one of the conductivity and the resistivity of the material-under-test by detecting a decrease in the rotation rate of the free-floating magnet over time.

3. The system of claim 2 , further comprising:

a solenoid disposed adjacent to the free-floating magnet, the solenoid including a coil and armature configured to apply a force to the free-floating magnet to initiate rotation of the free-floating magnet.

4. The system of claim 2 , further comprising: a stator coil disposed adjacent to the free-floating magnet, the stator coil configured to generate a magnetic field to initiate rotation of the free-floating magnet.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the material-under-test is configured to rotate, and

the conductivity calculation unit is configured to calculate at least one of the conductivity and the resistivity of the material-under-test by detecting an increase in the rotation rate of the free-floating magnet over time.

6. The system of claim 5 , further comprising a motor mounted to the support structure, the motor configured to rotate the material-under-test.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the rotation detection assembly comprises:

a laser emitter configured to project light onto the free-floating magnet; and

a laser detector configured to detect light reflected from the free-floating magnet.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the free-floating magnet is a cube.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the free-floating magnet is a sphere, and

the free-floating magnet includes one or more markers on a surface of the sphere that are tracked by the rotation detection assembly to detect the rotation rate of the free-floating magnet.

10. A computer program product for analyzing a material-under-test, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

initiating rotation of a free-floating magnet, the free-floating magnet suspended in physical non-contact between a diamagnet and a material-under-test, the diamagnet mounted to the support structure and located between the free-floating magnet and a mounted magnet to cause the free-floating magnet to float and rotate independently with respect to the material-under-test;

measuring a rotation rate of the free-floating magnet over time based on a reflection of a laser beam from the free-floating magnet, the rotation rate increasing or decreasing based on a drag torque effect of a material-under-test on the free-floating magnet; and

calculating at least one of a conductivity and a resistivity of the material-under-test based on the rotation rate of the free-floating magnet.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 , the method further comprising:

rotating the material-under-test; and

calculating at least one of the conductivity and the resistivity of the material-under-test by measuring an increase in the rotation rate of the free-floating magnet over time.

12. The computer program product of claim 10 , the method further comprising:

maintaining stationary the material-under-test;

controlling a solenoid to apply a force to the free-floating magnet to initiate rotation of the free-floating magnet; and

calculating at least one of the conductivity and the resistivity of the material-under-test by measuring a decrease in the rotation rate of the free-floating magnet over time.

13. The computer program product of claim 10 , the method further comprising:

maintaining stationary the material-under-test;

providing current to a stator coil to generate a magnetic field to apply a force to the free-floating magnet to initiate rotation of the free-floating magnet; and

calculating at least one of the conductivity and the resistivity of the material-under-test by measuring a decrease in the rotation rate of the free-floating magnet over time.