How do magnetic trains work

These magnetic fields interact with simple metallic loops set into the concrete walls of the Maglev guideway. The loops are made of conductive materials, like aluminum, and when a magnetic field moves past, it creates an electric current that generates another magnetic field. Three types of loops are set into the guideway at specific intervals to do three important tasks: one creates a field that makes the train hover about 5 inches above the guideway; a second keeps the train stable horizontally.

Both loops use magnetic repulsion to keep the train car in the optimal spot; the further it gets from the center of the guideway or the closer to the bottom, the more magnetic resistance pushes it back on track.

The third set of loops is a propulsion system run by alternating current power. Here, both magnetic attraction and repulsion are used to move the train car along the guideway. In one design, these circuits are aligned like rungs in a ladder.

As the train moves, a magnetic field repels the magnets, causing the train to levitate. Inductrack I is designed for high speeds, while Inductrack II is suited for slow speeds.

Inductrack III is specifically designed for very heavy cargo loads moved at slow speeds. Inductrack trains could levitate higher with greater stability. As long as it's moving a few miles per hour, an Inductrack train will levitate nearly an inch 2. A greater gap above the track means that the train would not require complex sensing systems to maintain stability.

Permanent magnets had not been used before because scientists thought that they would not create enough levitating force. The Inductrack design bypasses this problem by arranging the magnets in a Halbach array. The magnets are configured so that the intensity of the magnetic field concentrates above the array instead of below it. They are made from a newer material comprising a neodymium-iron-boron alloy, which generates a higher magnetic field. The Inductrack II design incorporates two Halbach arrays to generate a stronger magnetic field at lower speeds.

Notably, the passive magnetic levitation concept is a core feature of proposed hyperloop transportation systems, which is essentially an Inductrack-style train that blasts through a sealed tube that encases the entire track. It's possible that hyperloops may become the approach of choice, in part because they dodge the issue of air resistance in the way the regular maglevs cannot, and thus, should be able to achieve supersonic speeds.

Some say that a hyperloop might cost even less than a traditional high-speed rail line. But whereas maglev trains are already a proven technology with years of operational history, no one has yet built a commercial hyperloop anywhere in the world [source: Davies ]. While maglev transportation was first proposed more than a century ago, the first commercial maglev train didn't become a reality until , when a low-speed maglev shuttle became operational between the United Kingdom's Birmingham International railway station and an airport terminal of Birmingham International Airport.

Since then, various maglev projects have started, stalled, or been outright abandoned. However, there are currently six commercial maglev lines, and they're all located in South Korea, Japan and China. The fact that maglev systems are fast, smooth and efficient doesn't change one crippling fact — these systems are incredibly expensive to build. Some critics lambast maglev projects as costs perhaps five times as much as traditional rail lines.

But proponents point out that the cost of operating these trains is, in some cases, up to 70 percent less than with old-school train technology [sources: Hall , Hidekazu and Nobuo ]. It doesn't help that some high-profile projects have flopped. The administration at Old Dominion University in Virginia had hoped to have a super shuttle zipping students back and forth across campus starting back in the fall semester of , but the train did a few test runs and never really approached the 40 mph 64 kph speeds it promised.

But other projects persist. One ambitious group wants to build a mile kilometer stretch from Washington D. The concept's exorbitant price tag might be laughable just about anywhere else in the world, but this region's soul-crushing gridlock and limited space means city planners and engineers need an innovative solution, and a super-fast maglev system might be the best option.

A key selling point — an expansion to this project could connect to Washington to New York city and cut travel times to just 60 minutes, a speedy commute that could transform commerce and travel in the Northeast [sources: Lazo , Northeast Maglev ].

In Asia, though, the maglev boom is essentially already underway. Japan is working feverishly on a Tokyo-to-Osaka route that may open by When it's complete, the train will slash the nearly three hour trip to just 67 minutes [source: Reuters ].

China is seriously considering dozens of potential maglev routes, all of them in congested areas that require high-capacity mass transportation. These won't be high-speed trains. It travels over 50 mph 80 kph faster than the fastest high-speed wheel-rail kph Hayabusa , And it is only the first.

The lack of friction between the train and the guideway removes many limits that bound traditional trains. Maglev will only get faster from here Luu, There are other, more subtle qualities that also make maglev attractive:.

Although there are many upsides, there are still reasons why maglev trains are not being built everywhere. Perhaps the biggest reason is that maglev guideways are not compatible with existing rail infrastructure.

Any organization attempting to implement a maglev system must start from scratch and build a completely new set of tracks. This involves a very high initial investment Coates, Even though guideways cost less than rails over time Powell, , it is hard to justify spending so much upfront.

Another problem is that maglev trains travel fast, but they might not travel quite fast enough. It is hard to dispute that these trains are superior to standard ones. Regardless, more work needs to be done before it is worth implementing them worldwide. Ever since the steam engine, trains have traditionally been in the domain of mechanical engineers.

They were all motors and axles, wheels and engines. However, the introduction of maglev technology has broken that tradition. Developing these trains has required input from a number of different fields other than mechanical engineering, including physics and chemistry.

Most importantly, though, it has brought electrical engineers to the table. From the beginning, electrical engineers have been major contributors to developing maglev technology. Eric Laithwaite, an electrical engineer, developed the first linear induction motor, an important and necessary precursor to maglev trains. Hermann Kemper, who many believe to be the father of maglev, was also an electrical engineer.

German and Japanese electrical engineers worked to establish the maglev programs in their respective nations. And today, electrical engineers are making the technology better and better so that it may appeal to countries all over the world. Maglev trains have surprisingly few moving parts.

They are all about electric currents, magnets, and wire loops. Some important topics to the field are electromagnetic fields and waves, circuit theory, feedback control systems, and power engineering. All these fall under the expertise of electrical engineers. Therefore it is electrical engineers that are needed to solve the biggest problems this technology faces. The trains need to be made faster and more energy efficient. All the while they need to be kept well within boundaries of safety.

The guideways need to be made cheaper, easier to implement, and perhaps more compatible with existing rails. The control systems need to be made flawless. All of these issues and more are calling out for an electrical engineer to come unravel their answers.

Maglev technology holds great promise for the future. It has the potential to be a cheaper, faster, safer, and greener form of transportation than we have today.

And with the help of some electrical engineers, it will become all of these things. There are possible applications for this technology in anything from intercity public transportation to cross-country trips. There are even proposals to build long underground tubes, suck the air out of the tubes, and place maglev trains inside of them.

In this setting there would be virtually no wind resistance, so a train could easily reach speeds exceeding the speed of sound Thornton, While it may be a long time before this technology becomes prevalent, it is difficult to deny that it will at some point be prevalent. The advantages are too hard to ignore. As of now there is only one commercial maglev train in use, and it has already eclipsed everything that has come before it.

How will this technology evolve and improve as we move into the future? Only time will tell. But it is highly plausible that we now stand at the precipice of a transportation revolution. I, for one, look forward to gliding across the countryside at mph in a levitating box of magnets.

Abstract Maglev trains use magnetism to levitate above the tracks on which they travel. Little has ever been researched on magnetics, but you have finally discovered a propulsion system that can move satellites into outer space.

But the idiots are still making the nuclear material. The plants should be dismantled and the manufacturing of nuclear material banned.

The only feasible way to rid the nuclear waste is to send it into outer space until some other way to neutralize it is found. The answer to copy metallic material in the flying saucers found probably can be solved by powered metallurgy, using both heat and high pressure molding.

We have found out already that the properties of aluminum changed in the production of the shell protective material in the saucers. Magnetic fields is the only logical propulsion system that will work in space travel.

Good work on your excellent work so far. You should know flying saucers are remnant of world war one zeppelins that broke loose from their mooring towers. All zeppelins. Dont think for an instant it didnt affect paranoid americans. The mere idea of UFOs existing pushed them to develop technology. The Hyperloop technology is also very surprising but technically it is widely been constructed. Lets join the connectivity of these network. Specifically, I am being told that, as planned currently, the Mag-Lev Linnear train would emerge from a tunnel in the Ogaya district of Kani City.

If this in fact occurs, the above-ground train route would destroy the current studio and kiln of working artist Yoshida Yoshihiko, and would also seriously impact other neighbors and historic pottery kiln sites in the Ogaya neighborhood.

It all seems like magic. What are the energy requirements of a single loco without a train behind?