Leaving On a Fast Train

In A

World Using Magnets

“Transrapid 09” at a German

Test Facility

A magnet is a mineral formation made up of a substance called magnetite that produces a magnetic field. A ‘magnetic field’ is invisible but is responsible for the most significant characteristic of a magnet which is that it emits a force that pulls on certain types of material, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.

Early people learned about magnetism from naturally occurring pieces of magnetized iron ore called lodestones, which are naturally created magnets; although the creation process occurs some how in nature, it is still a mystery to the field of geology as to exactly how this process takes place. 

The earliest known surviving descriptions of magnets and their properties derive from Greece, India, and China about 2500 years ago; but perhaps the most significant development that originated with the discovery of the properties associated with the magnet was the lodestone compass.

It is generally believed that the compass was invented in China sometime between I BC and I AD but it was not used for the purpose of navigation in China until sometime after 1000 AD.  I might add however that some scholars believe that date was more likely beyond 1100 AD. Regardless, it wasn’t until the 12^th or the 13^th century that the magnetic compass was used for navigation in Europe and elsewhere.

Since the invention of the compass, magnets have become a necessary part of our life style.  Magnets are used to make every day items such as electric motors and generators work. In the absence of electric motors and generators we would not have telephones, lights, electric heat, televisions, or computers; all of which are among the many items considered essential for the “modern” way of life.

There are several such items that use what we call “electromagnets”. In the simplest terms you could say electromagnets are created by adding electricity to iron. This process is typically used in car crushers; scrap metal sorters, telephones, computers, doorbells, tape recorders, TV’s, and yes, maglev (derived from magnetic levitation) trains.

Maglev trains use super conducting magnets in the track and on the underside of the train to “float” or you could say “fly” the vehicle above the track; they use magnets to create both lift and thrust, only a few inches above the guide way surface, the powerful force of magnetic repulsion is used for creating forward motion in other words.  Maglev trains are often called “bullet” trains because they can travel so fast; exceeding 300 miles per hour (480 km/h.)  The first train line of this type opened in Japan in April of 1997.  A few years later, in 2003 this type train was clocked at an incredible 361 miles an hour! 

Currently, only two commercial Maglev transport systems are in operation in the world, plus there are two others under construction. In April 2004, Shanghai, China began commercial operations of a high-speed Transrapid system. Beginning in March 2005, the Japanese began operations for there most recent version of the rapid transit system with the HSST “Linimo” line. The South Koreans and the Chinese are both in the process of building new low speed Maglev lines of their own design, one in Beijing and the other in Seoul.

The technology at the heart of Maglev type trains has been around for quite a while; in fact for more than 100 years. If the biggest advantage to this transportation system is speed (300 plus mph), perhaps the biggest disadvantage is the lack of speed.  After all, the airplane is its chief completer, at least in theory.

Well let’s just say that ‘bullet trains’ are now a whole lot faster. You see, China is reportedly working on a high-speed train that will travel upwards of 600 miles per hour (1,000 kilometers per hour), using Maglev line technology in airless underground tubes. A vacuum or airless environment will reduce friction that is created from the air encountered by current maglev trains which would make such low altitude speeds possible; it’s called Evacuated Tube Transport, or ETT.

American Daryl Oster holds the U.S. patent for ETT, technology, and just as you might expect, Oster has reportedly been working with several Chinese researchers on the concept. The technology could be in use within 10 years.

The passengers who choose this futuristic mode of transport quite naturally will be protected with a pressurized cabin like that used in commercial air planes, so it won’t be necessary to tote along oxygen for breathing purposes.

The down side to this method of travel has to be the poor scenery you are sure to encounter, but the up side is at least two fold: imagine a trip from say, from New York City to Los Angeles in 45 minutes, that’s, according to Oster’s own calculations.  You could live in New York and work in LA, thus making our world a whole lot smaller.

The other upside is the simple fact that there is no need for a petroleum based product  for operation because this type of transportation depends upon magnetic propulsion and electricity so as to accomplish forward motion.   Now I'm wondering, how much jet fuel is being used these days. The answer is 17.5 billion gallons per year.

But in fairness, consider that according to Boeing's Web site, a 747 passenger plane burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (about 12 liters per kilometer). This sounds like an awfully bad miles-per-gallon rating! But remember that a 747 is carrying more than 560 people. So, if you use an average of 500 people per 747 to take into account the fact that not all seats on every flight are always filled; in that case the plane is only burning 0.01 gallons per person per mile. In other words, the plane is getting 100 miles per gallon per person, and that’s great!

The point I’m trying to make here is not that the air line industry is guilty of wasting petroleum based products such as jet fuel; in fact their efficiency rating is much better than the automobile. The point is that great fuel efficiency is not always enough.

Sources ...                                                                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnet  http://www.rapides.k12.la.us/region6tltc/intech2/is%20bigger%20better/what%20are%20some%20uses%20of%20magnets.htm                                                   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maglev                                                      http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/china-developing-600-mph-airless-maglev-high-speed-train/9594                                                                    http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/question192.htm