Maglev trains, which use the electromagnetic force to overcome gravity, have intrigued scientists for the past several decades. Levitating several centimeters above the track, the train cars have no physical contact and no friction with the track, enabling speeds of more than 400 mph. Implementing Maglevs into urban areas – or even across the country – could make a five-hour drive a smooth 40-minute ride, as well as reinvent the world’s infrastructure.
The first operating low-speed Maglev systems, built in England and Germany in the mid-‘80s, are no longer in existence. However, the newest 300-mph system built in 2002 in Shanghai, China has revived political and consumer interest in the technology, despite current large construction costs. Although the city plans to extend the 18-mile track to 100 miles for the World Expo in 2010, the technology must become more economically viable with proven safety for mainstream adoption.
As part of the investigation, a team of scientists (W. Yang et al.) from China has recently designed and built a new model for a Maglev car that could offer significant stability advantages over current technology. The scientists used specially fabricated high temperature superconductors (HTSC) for the cars and permanent magnets for the tracks, which demonstrate a higher levitation force and greater stability than when permanent magnets are used on both the track and car. Although the car models are only about 12 cm long and 4 cm wide, they demonstrated frictionless, stable movement across the 10-meter-long track.
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