How Do Maglev Trains Work?
The idea behind maglev trains are pretty simple and as the name implies, magnets are used in order for the system to work. It is pretty much common knowledge for people to know how to use magnets. There exists two poles, North and South, unlike poles attract and liked poles repel.
Magnets:
Any material or object that has a magnetic field can be called a magnet. They are predominantly noticed when they attract ferrous objects such as metals like iron, cobalt, and nickel. Today magnets are produced in different shapes and sizes, some are used for tools such as screwdrivers and especially compasses.
So how do they actually work? It involves something called a magnetic field. A magnetic field is the space surrounding a magnet, it is produced when current is made to flow in a wire and thus the motion of the electric charges produces the effects of magnets. In some ways a magnetic field is similar to that of an electric field. To describe a magnetic field, one must draw lines of forces shown by the figures below.
So how do they actually work? It involves something called a magnetic field. A magnetic field is the space surrounding a magnet, it is produced when current is made to flow in a wire and thus the motion of the electric charges produces the effects of magnets. In some ways a magnetic field is similar to that of an electric field. To describe a magnetic field, one must draw lines of forces shown by the figures below.
https://giphy.com/search/electro-magnetic-field http://www.antenna-theory.com/definitions/hfield.php
If a magnetic pole is put inside the magnetic field made by another magnet then it will experience a force, this is called the magnetic line of force. The direction of the line of force gives the direction of the magnetic force on a north pole placed at that point. Simply put, this just means that the magnetic line of force of the North pole of a magnet will always align to the South pole of the magnet.
To determine the magnitude of the magnetic field we can use this equation:
B = magnetic field magnitude (Tesla, T)
u = permeability of free space (4(pi) x 10^-7 T*m/A)
I = magnitude of the electric current (Amperes, A)
r = distance (m)
If a magnetic pole is put inside the magnetic field made by another magnet then it will experience a force, this is called the magnetic line of force. The direction of the line of force gives the direction of the magnetic force on a north pole placed at that point. Simply put, this just means that the magnetic line of force of the North pole of a magnet will always align to the South pole of the magnet.
To determine the magnitude of the magnetic field we can use this equation:
B = magnetic field magnitude (Tesla, T)
u = permeability of free space (4(pi) x 10^-7 T*m/A)
I = magnitude of the electric current (Amperes, A)
r = distance (m)
Superconducting Magnets:
In order to actually make the maglev train work, simple magnets are swapped with what we call superconducting magnets. These are magnets that are simply cooled to extreme temperatures. Cooling said magnets increases the power of the magnetic field drastically. By cooling the material, less energy is needed to knock the electrons around and thus makes their path more direct and they will therefore experience less resistance. Below is a clip that shows a scale model of a maglev train floating by using superconducting magnets.