MAGLEV

Man in his relentless quest for finding quicker modes of travel has always thought of something new, time and time again to reduce his traveltime.In the beginning it was upto the beats of burden.Then came motorized vehicles and steam engines.Then came electric engines that were faster and less polluting.Now it is the time to harness the immense potential of magnetism to drive trains. Magnetic levitation is an upcoming technology that suspends and thrusts trains using magnetic force.This method can be faster than conventional railway systems, and can reach speeds of commercial aircraft .The highest recorded speed of a maglev train is 581 km/h,achieved in Japan in 2003 by a train named Shinkansen.There are two types of maglev technology:electromagnetic suspension (EMS) uses the attractive magnetic force of a magnet beneath a rail to lift the train.The other one is the electrodynamic suspension (EDS) which uses a repulsive force between two magnetic fields to push the train away from the rail.The lesser the friction between a vehicle and the break,the tougher it is to slow it down.Since the maglev just floats on a cushion of magnetism its all the more difficult for the driver to stop the train.So unless a fail-proof braking technology comes up,maglev cannot be a viable technology for commercial operations.As always,it is a trade off between speed and security.But all good technology comes with a price.Since this technology is in its natal stage,the costs remain high.Only when this is perfected and when the costs come down,it can be considered for commercial operations.