Monday, June 17, 2002
Magnetic Levitation Train - Japan
 | Miyazaki in Southern Japan (1980): A test maglev track and train. |
| The magnet levitation transportation meme has a long history. In 1957 Robert Salter envisioned the PLANETRAN, a 6,000 mph maglev subway train. The subway tunnel would support a vacuum, eliminating air friction. Very low fuel requirements, no pollution, silent, But Very Expensive to build. The train would carry a superconductive loop and the tunnel floor would consist of a series of fixed loops. By varying the electric current in the tunnel floor loops, the direction and speed of the train could be controlled. At the time Salter had no solution for keeping the train stable in the tunnel while in motion, but by 1969 he saw that the new microprocessor technology coming online could be used to adjust the strength of the electromagnetic field dynamically - kind of a fly-by-wire in reverse. Maybe the new generation of trains about to come into commercial service will be the 1st step towards the vision. | |
