Why the Maglev (Magnetic Levitation) Train Is Better Than Regular Trains
Levitating Trains
The Maglev trains
“A train is a connected series of rail vehicles propelled along a track to transport cargo or passengers.”
-Wikipedia
Trains now days are most commonly used for the transport of passengers across long distances, they are fast enough to reach a constant speed between 65 km/h to around 120km/h, although the record speed of a conventional train is of 575 km/h, held by the French TGV. It needed some modifications (shorter and higher voltage) and had passengers in it. Although, the record for non-conventional train is held by the JR-Maglev, a Japanese experimental train reaching the 581km/h without passengers (precaution) on a Magnetic-Levitation track.
Answering how a train works is a very hard question, assuming we are talking about locomotives; they all have a generator behind the crews cab about half the size of a Volkswagen Beetle that powers the train with electricity by spinning, but the electrical output requires a lot of energy, that’s why there is a huge and powerful diesel engine that provides this power.
Ignoring what the possible price of putting down a rail could be, I am going to calculate the price of having to get wheels and how long they last. A single axle 2 wheels costs $33, on the average commercial train there is about 636 wheels, so there is 318 axles, which adds up to total of $10,494 .
There isn’t an exact schedule on how often they change train wheels, it all depends on the rail and how much braking the train does, for example, if it’s a very curvy “road”, more braking is applied and the more the wheels get wasted, and eventually, this slows down the entire vehicle.
Regular trains also suffer from bumps and weather can play a difference in the performance of the train, the fact that the train is connected to the rail and to the floor deteriorates the materials and can make a huge sound, and if it’s a train that goes by a big town, there might be noise complaints.
Since friction seems to be the
The Maglev trains
“A train is a connected series of rail vehicles propelled along a track to transport cargo or passengers.”
-Wikipedia
Trains now days are most commonly used for the transport of passengers across long distances, they are fast enough to reach a constant speed between 65 km/h to around 120km/h, although the record speed of a conventional train is of 575 km/h, held by the French TGV. It needed some modifications (shorter and higher voltage) and had passengers in it. Although, the record for non-conventional train is held by the JR-Maglev, a Japanese experimental train reaching the 581km/h without passengers (precaution) on a Magnetic-Levitation track.
Answering how a train works is a very hard question, assuming we are talking about locomotives; they all have a generator behind the crews cab about half the size of a Volkswagen Beetle that powers the train with electricity by spinning, but the electrical output requires a lot of energy, that’s why there is a huge and powerful diesel engine that provides this power.
Ignoring what the possible price of putting down a rail could be, I am going to calculate the price of having to get wheels and how long they last. A single axle 2 wheels costs $33, on the average commercial train there is about 636 wheels, so there is 318 axles, which adds up to total of $10,494 .
There isn’t an exact schedule on how often they change train wheels, it all depends on the rail and how much braking the train does, for example, if it’s a very curvy “road”, more braking is applied and the more the wheels get wasted, and eventually, this slows down the entire vehicle.
Regular trains also suffer from bumps and weather can play a difference in the performance of the train, the fact that the train is connected to the rail and to the floor deteriorates the materials and can make a huge sound, and if it’s a train that goes by a big town, there might be noise complaints.
Since friction seems to be the
Bibliography: URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev#Technology Title: Maglev Latest date modified (LDM): 3 November 2012 at 18:01. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train Title: Shanghai Maglev train LDM: 31 October 2012 at 14:51. URL: http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines/maglev-train.htm Title: How the Maglev train works LDM: 26 January 2012