Download MagLev Intro Questions - Super Substitute Teachers

TIJ 1O
Exploring Technologies
Transportation
MagLev Intro Questions
Q1
Sketch a Maglev train above.
Name:
Q2 Sketch an Elevation view.
Maglev, or magnetic levitation, is a system of transportation that suspends,
guides and propels vehicles, mostly trains, using magnetic levitation from a very large number
of magnets. This method has the potential to be faster, quieter and smoother than wheeled
mass transit systems. The potential speed is excess of 6,400 km/h if deployed in an evacuated
tunnel. If not deployed in an evacuated tube the power needed for levitation is usually not a
particularly large percentage and most of the power needed is used to overcome air drag, as
with any other high speed train.
If you've been to an airport lately, you've probably noticed that air travel is
becoming more congested. Despite frequent delays, airplanes still provide the fastest way to
travel hundreds or thousands of miles. Passenger air travel revolutionized the transportation
industry in the last century, letting people traverse great distances in a matter of hours instead
of days or weeks.
The only alternatives to airplanes -- feet, cars, buses, boats and conventional trains -- are just
too slow for today's fast-paced society. However, there is a new form of transportation that
could revolutionize transportation of the 21st century the way airplanes did in the 20th
century.
A few countries are using powerful electromagnets to develop high-speed trains, called maglev
trains. Maglev is short for magnetic levitation, which means that these trains will float over a
guideway using the basic principles of magnets to replace the old steel wheel and track trains.
In this article, you will learn how electromagnetic propulsion works, how three specific types of
maglev trains work and where you can ride one of these trains.
Q3
Maglev = ________________________ __________________________
Q4
A few countries are using powerful ________________to develop high-speed trains,
called maglev trains.
Q5-6
Maglev is short for _______________ __________________, which means that these
trains will float over a ______________ using the basic principles of magnets to replace
the old steel wheel and track trains.
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TIJ 1O
Exploring Technologies
Transportation
MagLev Intro Questions
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Electromagnetic Suspension (EMS)
If you've ever played with magnets, you know that opposite poles attract and like poles repel
each other. This is the basic principle behind electromagnetic propulsion. Electromagnets are
similar to other magnets in that they attract metal objects, but the magnetic pull is temporary.
As you can read about in How Electromagnets Work, you can easily create a small
electromagnet yourself by connecting the ends of a copper wire to the positive and negative
ends of an AA, C or D-cell battery. This creates a small magnetic field. If you disconnect either
end of the wire from the battery, the magnetic field is taken away.
The magnetic field created in this wire-and-battery experiment is the simple idea behind a
maglev train rail system. There are three components to this system:



A large electrical power source
Metal coils lining a guideway or track
Large guidance magnets attached to the underside of the train
The big difference between a maglev train and a conventional train is that maglev trains do not
have an engine -- at least not the kind of engine used to pull typical train cars along steel tracks.
The engine for maglev trains is rather inconspicuous. Instead of using fossil fuels, the magnetic
field created by the electrified coils in the guideway walls and the track combine to propel the
train.
Q7
EMS = ________________________ ____________________________
Q8-9
If you've ever played with magnets, you know that opposite poles ____________ and
like poles ____________ each other.
Q10
The big difference between a maglev train and a conventional train is that maglev trains
do not have an ____________ -- at least not the kind of engine used to pull typical train
cars along steel tracks.
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TIJ 1O
Exploring Technologies
Transportation
MagLev Intro Questions
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The Maglev Track
The magnetized coil running along the track, called a guideway, repels the large
magnets on the train's undercarriage, allowing the train to levitate between 1 to
10 cm above the guideway. Once the train is levitated, power is supplied to the
coils within the guideway walls to create a unique system of magnetic fields that
pull and push the train along the guideway. The electric current supplied to the
coils in the guideway walls is constantly alternating to change the polarity of the magnetized coils. This
change in polarity causes the magnetic field in front of the train to pull the vehicle forward, while the
magnetic field behind the train adds more forward thrust.
Q11-12
Sketch and label a typical Maglev track above.
Q13
The magnetized coil running along the track, called a ________________, repels the
large magnets on the train's undercarriage, allowing the train to ___________________
between 1 to 10 cm above the guideway.
Maglev trains float on a cushion of air, eliminating friction. This lack of friction and the trains'
aerodynamic designs allow these trains to reach unprecedented ground transportation speeds
of more than 500 km/h, or twice as fast as Amtrak's fastest commuter train. In comparison, a
Boeing-777 commercial airplane used for long-range flights can reach a top speed of about 905
km/h. Developers say that maglev trains will eventually link cities that are up to 1,609 km apart.
At 500 km/h, you could travel from Paris to Rome in just over two hours.
Q14
Maglev trains float on a ____________ ____ ______, eliminating friction.
If the distance from Toronto to Kingston is 300 km…
Q15
How long would it take to drive a car at 100 km/hr? _________________
Q16
How long would it take a Maglev train to travel this distance?__________
Q17 Sketch Japans Maglev train above.
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TIJ 1O
Exploring Technologies
Transportation
MagLev Intro Questions
Name:
The highest recorded speed of a maglev train is 581 kilometres per hour, achieved in Japan in
2003, 6 km/h faster than the conventional TGV speed record. This is slower than many aircraft,
since aircraft can fly at far higher altitudes where air drag is lower, thus high speeds are more
readily attained.1
Q18
What is the highest recorded speed of a maglev train? _______________
Compared to conventional trains
Major comparative differences between the two technologies lie in backward-compatibility, rolling
resistance, weight, noise, design constraints, and control systems.
Backwards Compatibility: Maglev trains currently in operation are not compatible with conventional
track, and therefore require all new infrastructure for their entire route. By contrast conventional high
speed trains such as the TGV are able to run at reduced speeds on existing rail infrastructure, thus
reducing expenditure where new infrastructure would be particularly expensive (such as the final
approaches to city terminals), or on extensions where traffic does not justify new infrastructure.
Efficiency: Due to the lack of physical contact between the track and the vehicle, maglev trains
experience no rolling resistance, leaving only air resistance and electromagnetic drag, potentially
improving power efficiency.
Q 19
Are Maglev trains compatible with current trains? ___________
Bombardiers Maglev train
1
Q 20 Sketch a Bombardier Train above
Wikipedia.ca – Magnetic levitation
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TIJ 1O
Exploring Technologies
Transportation
MagLev Intro Questions
Name:
What is the disadvantages with Maglev
There are several disadvantages with maglev trains. Maglev guide paths are bound to be more costly
than conventional steel railways. The other main disadvantage is lack with existing infrastructure. For
example if a high speed line between two cities it built, then high speed trains can serve both cities but
more importantly they can serve other nearby cities by running on normal railways that branch off the
high speed line. The high speed trains could go for a fast run on the high speed line, then come off it for
the rest of the journey. Maglev trains wouldn't be able to do that, they would be limited to where
maglev lines run. This would mean it would be very difficult to make construction of maglev lines
commercially viable unless there were two very large destinations being connected. Of the 5000km that
TGV trains serve in France, only about 1200km is high speed line, meaning 75% of TGV services run on
existing track. The fact that a maglev train will not be able to continue beyond its track may seriously
hinder its usefulness.2
A possible solution: Although I haven't seen anywhere a solution could be to put normal steel wheels
onto the bottom of a maglev train, which would allow it to run on normal railway once it was off the
floating guideway.3
2
http://www.o-keating.com/hsr/maglev.htm
3
http://www.o-keating.com/hsr/maglev.htm
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