Japanese train breaks world speed record @ 374mph

[FredClogs]

castex said:

Digga said:

I'm envisaging a scenario similar to when your thumb slips off a jet-ski throttle at full tilt.

Go on then, what happens?

Well you sink, but in the case of a maglev train you have several hundred tons (I presume) of metal hitting the metal rail at 340mph... There must be some sort of safety wheels in operation but still the and possible deceleration and heat from the friction seems frightening to me (obviously I'm no expert, people must have done some sums)

[Ali2202]

Nippy!

[FredClogs]

Scuffers said:

FredClogs said:

I'm concerned what happens in the event of a power cut.

from here: http://www.maglev2000.com/works/how-08.html#Questi...

Q. What happens if the electric power is cut off to a Maglev guideway? Will the vehicles on it crash?

A. The M-2000 vehicles are automatically and passively stably levitated as long as they move along the guideway. The electric power fed to the guideway magnetically propels the M-2000 vehicles and maintains their speed. If the guideway power were cut off, the vehicles would coast for several miles, gradually slowing down due to air drag. When they reach 30 mph, they settle down on auxiliary wheels and brake to a stop on the guideway. When power is restored to the guideway propulsion windings, the vehicles can magnetically accelerate back up to their cruising speed.

Because the vehicles are automatically levitated and stabilized for speeds greater than 30 mph, there is no chance of a crash if guideway power is cut off.

ie, the levitation bit will be maintained by the motion of the train, you will however loose all 'drive'

I see, so there is a field created by the movement, I can see how that would work in principle.

[Rosscow]

Ali2202 said:

Nippy!

[Digga]

FredClogs said:

castex said:

Digga said:

I'm envisaging a scenario similar to when your thumb slips off a jet-ski throttle at full tilt.

Go on then, what happens?

Well you sink, but in the case of a maglev train you have several hundred tons (I presume) of metal hitting the metal rail at 340mph... There must be some sort of safety wheels in operation but still the and possible deceleration and heat from the friction seems frightening to me (obviously I'm no expert, people must have done some sums)

If only it were that simple; the jet-ski stops (seemingly) dead and you hurtle over the bars and hit the water which, if you're shifting, feels like concrete. At which point you don't really know which way is up but, if you had the sense to put on a lifejacket, you'll survive.

What you say about the train weight, friction and retardation are good points though; I do wonder how these effects could possibly be countered.

[wc98]

in this case i prefer the kmh displayed in the video as opposed to the mph . 603 kmh ,fantastic bit of kit .

[Scuffers]

wc98 said:

in this case i prefer the kmh displayed in the video as opposed to the mph . 603 kmh ,fantastic bit of kit .

realistically, it's competing with air travel at those speeds, end to end journey times will slaughter short haul flights.

[GrumpyV8]

Was the late British Professor Eric Braithwaite responsible in some way for the invention of this type of transportation?

[Scuffers]

GrumpyV8 said:

Was the late British Professor Eric Braithwaite responsible in some way for the invention of this type of transportation?

Almost...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Laithwaite

[castex]

Digga said:

FredClogs said:

castex said:

Digga said:

I'm envisaging a scenario similar to when your thumb slips off a jet-ski throttle at full tilt.

Go on then, what happens?

Well you sink, but in the case of a maglev train you have several hundred tons (I presume) of metal hitting the metal rail at 340mph... There must be some sort of safety wheels in operation but still the and possible deceleration and heat from the friction seems frightening to me (obviously I'm no expert, people must have done some sums)

If only it were that simple; the jet-ski stops (seemingly) dead and you hurtle over the bars and hit the water which, if you're shifting, feels like concrete. At which point you don't really know which way is up but, if you had the sense to put on a lifejacket, you'll survive.

I see, ta. Done something similar on a sailboard. Still don't know how. Oh and it did hurt. A lot.
Back on topic, I LOVE Maglev. It's the way of the future!

[WestyCarl]

castex said:

It's the way of the future!

It maybe, but if Virgin get one I bet it still won't run in autumn due to leaves on the line

[tvrforever]

Scuffers said:

GrumpyV8 said:

Was the late British Professor Eric Braithwaite responsible in some way for the invention of this type of transportation?

Almost...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Laithwaite

Yes it was Eric, and yes the UK are still the world leaders in magnetic levitation and magnetic propulsion systems - however most of the business is export rather than local deployments. But lots of good uses for the tech Eric documented being designed, developed, manufactured and sold by UK businesses.

[Mermaid]

Scuffers said:

wc98 said:

in this case i prefer the kmh displayed in the video as opposed to the mph . 603 kmh ,fantastic bit of kit .

realistically, it's competing with air travel at those speeds, end to end journey times will slaughter short haul flights.

Look forward to getting down to Italy for the weekend.

[Steffan]

Mermaid said:

Scuffers said:

wc98 said:

in this case i prefer the kmh displayed in the video as opposed to the mph . 603 kmh ,fantastic bit of kit .

realistically, it's competing with air travel at those speeds, end to end journey times will slaughter short haul flights.

Look forward to getting down to Italy for the weekend.

I can definitely see potential in this! but then again given the way our trains are run perhaps not in the UK!

[Welshbeef]

Amazing feat of engineering

At these speeds it kind of makes air travel redundant if it goes directly to hubs.



At full speed how long would it take to come to a stop assuming it was fully loaded with passengers.

[sebhaque]

Just looks like every Audi A5 TDi on the motorways

I do find the concept of Maglev very interesting, I seem to recall reading about Maglevs operating in vacuum tunnels for silly speed, the realism of this I'm still not sure about yet though.

[Scuffers]

sebhaque said:

I do find the concept of Maglev very interesting, I seem to recall reading about Maglevs operating in vacuum tunnels for silly speed, the realism of this I'm still not sure about yet though.

That man Elon Musk again! (Space X, Tesla cars, etc)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperloop

[speedy_thrills]

How much energy does it take to run a this type of rail system?

...and how do you stop in an emergency?

[Scuffers]

speedy_thrills said:

How much energy does it take to run a this type of rail system?

...and how do you stop in an emergency?

less than conventional electric trains (no friction to overcome, just aero loads)

and faster than the human body could survive (once again, it does not need friction of the wheels to the track to brake).

[maffski]

speedy_thrills said:

How much energy does it take to run a this type of rail system?

There's a table here comparing the German high speed train and maglev (ICE vs Transrapid). A Transrapid based maglev was one of the candidates for what has become HS2 - UK Ultraspeed claimed London-Birmingham would be 30 mins.