  Forces and torques exerted by a superconducting torus on a permanent magnet
have been mapped. It is demonstrated that stable orbits exist. Moreover,
provided that the magnet remains in any of these orbits, the first critical
field in the superconductor is never overpassed and the superconductor remains
in the Meissner state. The consequent absence of hysteresis makes these kinds
of device perfect candidates for non-frictional bearings or gyroscopes.
