HERE IS AN INTERESTING POST ON A WONDERFUL CONCEPT OF MAGNETIC LEVITATION.....
ITS IN OUR 2ND SEMESTER SYLLABI...
MAGLEV TRAIN
A few countries are using powerful electromagnets to develop high-
speed trains, called maglev trains. Maglev is short for magnetic
levitation, which means that these trains will float over a
guideway using the basic principles of magnets to replace the old
steel wheel and track trains. In this article, you will learn how
electromagnetic propulsion works, how three specific types of
maglev trains work and where you can ride one of these trains.
Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS)
If you've ever played with magnets, you know that opposite poles attract and like poles repel each other. This is the basic principle behind electromagnetic propulsion. Electromagnets are similar to other magnets in that they attract metal objects, but the magnetic pull is temporary. As you can read about in How Electromagnets Work, you can easily create a small electromagnet yourself by connecting the ends of a copper wire to the positive and negative ends of an AA, C or D-cell battery. This creates a small magnetic field. If you disconnect either end of the wire from the battery, the magnetic field is taken away.
The magnetic field created in this wire-and-battery experiment is the simple idea behind a maglev train rail system. There are three components to this system:
- A large electrical power source
- Metal coils lining a guideway or track
- Large guidance magnets attached to the underside of the train
The big difference between a maglev train and a conventional train is that maglev trains do not have anengine -- at least not the kind of engine used to pull typical train cars along steel tracks. The engine for maglev trains is rather inconspicuous. Instead of using fossil fuels, the magnetic field created by the electrified coils in the guideway walls and the track combine to propel the train.
