Abstract
A type I superconductor levitated above a magnet of low symmetry has a unique equilibrium position about which it may oscillate freely. In contrast, a type II superconductor has a continuous range of stable equilibrium positions and orientations where it floats rigidly without swinging or orbiting as if it were stuck in sand. A strong internal friction conspicuously indicates the existence and unpinning of flux lines in oxide superconductors levitated above liquid nitrogen. It is shown how these effects follow from the hysteretic magnetization curves and how the energy is dissipated.

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