Short · Trains
How does a maglev train float?
Passing magnets induce currents in figure-eight guideway coils, creating lift; a linear synchronous motor makes a travelling wave that pulls the train forward.
Opens Maglev Lab. Change the same thing yourself.
Transcript
This train has hit six hundred three kilometers per hour without touching its track. Magnets on the train sweep past coils in the guideway walls, pushing currents through them, and those currents push back, lifting the train about ten centimeters. Below about one hundred fifty kilometers per hour, the push is too weak, so it rolls on wheels. Now speed up the wave. Coils along the track switch in sequence, making a magnetic wave, and the train's magnets lock onto it, moving exactly as fast as the wave. Try it yourself at Explainer Tools dot com.