Bearing system employing a superconductor element

A bearing system, comprising:

• a bearing having a generally planar surface, and comprising a material exhibiting a superconducting phase below a transition temperature T.sub.c and exhibiting at least a partial Meissner effect under an applied magnetic field of strength less than a critical field H.sub.c ;
• means maintaining the material at a temperature less than T.sub.c ;
• a magnetic rotor, comprising a ferrite composition, positioned above the surface, and having a magnetization pattern corresponding to at least two adjacently positioned, alternating opposite north-south pole-pairs, each pole-pair having its north-south magnetization oriented perpendicular to the surface;
• the magnetization pattern defining a rotor magnetic field of strength less than said H.sub.c which induces in the material a repulsive force levitating the rotor above the bearing and causing a flux pinning interaction between the rotor and the bearing;
• the rotor magnetic field being symmetrical relative to at least one direction parallel to the surface and being asymmetrical relative to other directions parallel to the surface, so that application of external force to move the rotor in said at least one direction will be met by relatively little resistance, but the application of external force to move the rotor in said other directions will be met by relatively large resistance.