this next section has numbers in it: I'd like to be able to levitate the magnets an inch to the side of the base. - [X] find the kind of magnet with highest power / mass (likely neodymium) -> note: dimensions of magnet affect behavior? These magnets have maximum temperatures depending on the neodymium material type. It can range from 176 F 80 C through 428 F 220 C. Don't appear to have any problem with cold. Neodymium magnetis are ~7.45 g/cm^3. There's more at https://www.kjmagnetics.com/specs.asp - they also reshape a little proportional to temperature and stresses and it's predictable. The magnetically strongest neodymium materialtype is N52. It only goes to 176 F. We'll likely want the lightest, smallest magnet, which is about a mm wide. Magnets are specd with a detailed graph of the field shape, but m can be calculated with m = 1/mu_0 Br V where V is magnet volume. Smallest magnet is D101-N52. Weight: 0.0118 g 1/16" diameter, 1/32" thick -> -> 0.00157109008 cm^3, which matches mass D101-N52 dia = 1/16 in height = 1/32 in V = pi * (1/32 in)^3 = 0.0015709008 cm^3 Brmax = 14800 G = 1.48 T m = 1/mu_0 Br V m = 0.00185034597 Am^2