A magnet levitating over a superconductor will start to spin spontaneously. The movie clips below show examples of the effect (in real time). You need QuickTime to watch them

(For an explanation of the effect, see "Spontaneous spinning of a magnet levitating over a superconductor" , http://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0303574 , Physica C398, 8 (2003).)

Movie clips

spin1 (14 secs) , spin2 (31 secs)

spin3 (22 secs) spin4 (35 secs) (closer view)

spin5 (40 secs) (inside test tube)

spin6 (51 secs) (vertical vs tilted orientation)

spin7 (40 secs) (larger magnet)