On a train at 502kph.....wow!

If I'm right, going by the display on the train the trip was about 22 miles, or about the distance I go to work each day. At that speed (312 MPH) they would have covered the trip in just over 4 minutes. :eek:

Of course, my maths are probably wrong. :(
 
clv101 said:
'cos we're too busy spending billions of aviation infrastructure with no future when we should be spending that money on improving the rail network.
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And nuclear bombs, aircraft carriers and new warplanes which Japan doesn’t have. Plus the train is only really useful across medium/long distances between large urban areas. The only route I could really see benefiting from these trains in this country would be the East Coast Main Line, which as it happens is in dire need of a refurb.
 
Stretch said:
And nuclear bombs, aircraft carriers and new warplanes which Japan doesn’t have. Plus the train is only really useful across medium/long distances between large urban areas. The only route I could really see benefiting from these trains in this country would be the East Coast Main Line, which as it happens is in dire need of a refurb.
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I am sure Japan don't want aircraft carrier and nuclear bombs has a lot to do with the treaty when they surrender at the end of WW2. Not because they can't built it, more like they are not allow to.
 
I have done some research on the Japanese design of Maglev and it is so much more elegant a design than the German one. It uses no superconductors or cyrogenics and the train section is unpowered levitation. The physics is a bit tricky to understand and if you are science literate you should look it up.

Basically the train has an unpowered coil in it. The track has an alternating powered coil. The train starts off on small wheels and the track pulses a magnetic field underneath it. This alternating field following faraday’s laws induces a current in the unpowered coil. The now that there is a current in the coil it generates its on magnetic field. This repels the magnetic field in the track. By creating a wave effect in the track magnetic field it “drags” the induced magnetic field along with it. As the train goes faster and faster the unpowered coil cuts more and more flux lines in the track field and so induces a greater and greater current and consequently a greater and greater magnetic field. As the current rises the train rises until at apporx 45-60mph it comes off the little wheels and is totally levitated. The pulsing of the track field then accelerates the train up to 500kph (sorry about mixing speeds I’m working from memory). Now the freaky thing here is if the track loses power the induced current in the unpowered coil induces current in the power lost track coil. Kinetic energy is burnt up inducing current in the two coils and the train slows back to 45-60mph and lowers itself onto its wheels. The whole system is failsoft for loss of power, it is so elegant it blows my mind. The German system has to rely on back up batteries.

Look up there website there is a pdf in english explaining the whole thing. I’ll see if I can find the link.
 
Raymond Lin said:
I am sure Japan don't want aircraft carrier and nuclear bombs has a lot to do with the treaty when they surrender at the end of WW2. Not because they can't built it, more like they are not allow to.
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No they're not allowed, but that’s not really the point I was trying to make. We could quite easily spend the money we spend on nuclear weapons on a maglev train network instead. We invented the maglev train about 50 years ago but we have other priorities.
 
PlacidCasual said:
I have done some research on the Japanese design of Maglev and it is so much more elegant a design than the German one. It uses no superconductors or cyrogenics and the train section is unpowered levitation. The physics is a bit tricky to understand and if you are science literate you should look it up.

Basically the train has an unpowered coil in it. The track has an alternating powered coil. The train starts off on small wheels and the track pulses a magnetic field underneath it. This alternating field following faraday’s laws induces a current in the unpowered coil. The now that there is a current in the coil it generates its on magnetic field. This repels the magnetic field in the track. By creating a wave effect in the track magnetic field it “drags” the induced magnetic field along with it. As the train goes faster and faster the unpowered coil cuts more and more flux lines in the track field and so induces a greater and greater current and consequently a greater and greater magnetic field. As the current rises the train rises until at apporx 45-60mph it comes off the little wheels and is totally levitated. The pulsing of the track field then accelerates the train up to 500kph (sorry about mixing speeds I’m working from memory). Now the freaky thing here is if the track loses power the induced current in the unpowered coil induces current in the power lost track coil. Kinetic energy is burnt up inducing current in the two coils and the train slows back to 45-60mph and lowers itself onto its wheels. The whole system is failsoft for loss of power, it is so elegant it blows my mind. The German system has to rely on back up batteries.

Look up there website there is a pdf in english explaining the whole thing. I’ll see if I can find the link.
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Superb info their :)
 
If they all work with magnets how do you stop them ? - Can you 'slam' on the brakes so to speak or do you have to wait until the wheels 'drop' down ?
 
You have to hand it to the Japanese.

Beautiful country, rich history and in the 1800's, delegates from Japan came over and studied British methods of manufacture and technology and they took it and refined it to the artform they have today. That is precisely why they have the second biggest GDP in the world and have such excellent manufacturing methods and such forward thinking.

Oh, and they invented the MR2 as well. Thank you Japan.

I would very much like to go there one day.
 
Stretch said:
No they're not allowed, but that’s not really the point I was trying to make. We could quite easily spend the money we spend on nuclear weapons on a maglev train network instead. We invented the maglev train about 50 years ago but we have other priorities.
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Also ive heard (im not sure if its true but i think it is) Japan wont ever use a Nuke because of something to do with a cultural thing due to the samuria or something like that anyway.
 
Just out of interest, would it be possible to stand up and walk in it while its going? or would u get sucked to the back of the train from the force?
 
Zip said:
Just out of interest, would it be possible to stand up and walk in it while its going? or would u get sucked to the back of the train from the force?
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Even with my limited understanding of physics I don't think you'd get sucked to the back of the train.

If it came to a sudden stop, you might get sucked to the front of it face first though. Then you will have technically been killed in the face.
 
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