Magnetic Levitation
The two primary issues involved in magnetic levitation are lifting forces: providing an upward force sufficient to counteract gravity, and stability: ensuring that the system does not spontaneously slide or flip into a configuration where the lift is neutralized.
-Magnetic Levitation could shape the future
Our planet can be a crowded, polluted, crazy place. But a new design concept proposes that we rise above it all, literally, by moving to a magnetically levitated island in the sky, complete with green forests, mountains, and urban centers. The concept, called Heaven and Earth, was created by Chinese architect Wei Zhao and won an honorable mention in eVolo's 2012 Skyscraper Competition. Zhao has proposed that the massive donut-shaped platform could hold magnets on its underside that would repulse the earth's magnetic field to hold the island aloft. The floating platform would rotate, generating energy as it spins and theoretically fueling a completely sustainable society. Unfortunately, like most utopias, this idea is likely to remain a pie in the sky.
Regular high-speed trains can travel at up to 180 miles per hour, but they generate enormous amounts of friction and heat as they screech down the rails, leading to mechanical wear and energy loss. By contrast, maglev trains reach speeds faster than 300 miles per hour while hovering a few inches above the rail. By eliminating friction, maglev trains use less energy and can significantly reduce costs. For example, while every high-speed rail passenger pays one dollar for each mile traveled, maglev passengers could pay as little as 5 cents per mile, says James Powell, director of the company Maglev 2000 and a co-inventor of superconducting maglev trains.
For years, NASA has been researching the possibility of using the high speeds of maglev transportation to fling spacecraft into low Earth orbit. "It would really open up space to human exploration and commercialization," Powell says. "It's something we can't do now because it's too expensive."
Standard wind turbines convert only 1 percent of wind energy into usable power, and part of that glaring inefficiency stems from the loss of energy due to friction as the turbine spins. Researchers at the Guangzhou Energy Research Institute have estimated that magnetically levitated turbines could boost wind energy generation by as much as 20 percent over traditional turbines.
Magnetic levitation isn't just for far-out technologies; it's already being used in down-to-earth applications. Industrial equipment such as pumps, generators, motors, and compressors use levitation to support moving machinery without physical contact. The same bearings used to support maglev trains are used in electric power generation, petroleum refining, machine-tool operation, and natural gas pipelines.
It's not exactly what The Jetsons led us to expect, but SkyTran pods promise to bring maglev transportation to the skies. Each private pod, suspended from an elevated guideway, could carry three passengers and would use maglev technology to reach speeds of up to 150 mph. Theoretically, SkyTran could bring passengers anywhere they wanted to go along the route of the guideway, without making unnecessary stops for other passengers. The system could work using technology that is already available, and claims to be able to eliminate congestion while reducing carbon-dioxide emissions and dependence on foreign oil.
-Magnetic levitation might be a complicated part of science but scientist is now studying in advance about magnetic levitation because who knows that Magnetic levitation could shape our future for transportation, lifestyle, and even surviving the upcoming calamities of this world.
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