In 2010, Nextbigfuture reported that Southwest Jiaotong University in China was developing a low pressure underground tubes and maglev train which will travel at 1,000 kilometers per hour (600 mph). This is double the speed of current maglev trains. According to Shen Zhiyun, academic member of CAS and CAE, China should target the development of high-speed ground transportation with 600 to 1,000 kilometers per hour which should be in operation between 2020 and 2030. The $1.5 to 2.95 million per kilometer incremental cost is about 7-20% of the $17-40 million per kilometer of regular maglev lines in China, which is pretty cheap to get over double the speed.
In March 2013 they completed the first high-temperature superconducting maglev ring test, which was similar to the one you can see here but without the enclosed tube.
The Shanghai downtown to airport maglev can reach 268 miles (431 kilometres) per hour. Super-maglev, however, could allow for even higher speeds. This is because, by using a vacuum tube, they decrease the speed limitations imposed by air resistance on regular maglev trains.
In a paper on the subject, Dr Zigang says: 'If the running speed exceeds 400 kilometres (250 miles) per hour, more than 83 per cent of traction energy will wastefully dissipate in air resistance.' And, he adds, 'Aerodynamic noise will break through 90 decibels (the environmental standard is 75 decibels).'
The only way to break this barrier is to reduce the air pressure in the running environment, which he has done in his tube by lowering it to 10 times less than normal atmospheric pressure at sea level.
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In March 2013 they completed the first high-temperature superconducting maglev ring test, which was similar to the one you can see here but without the enclosed tube.
The Shanghai downtown to airport maglev can reach 268 miles (431 kilometres) per hour. Super-maglev, however, could allow for even higher speeds. This is because, by using a vacuum tube, they decrease the speed limitations imposed by air resistance on regular maglev trains.
In a paper on the subject, Dr Zigang says: 'If the running speed exceeds 400 kilometres (250 miles) per hour, more than 83 per cent of traction energy will wastefully dissipate in air resistance.' And, he adds, 'Aerodynamic noise will break through 90 decibels (the environmental standard is 75 decibels).'
The only way to break this barrier is to reduce the air pressure in the running environment, which he has done in his tube by lowering it to 10 times less than normal atmospheric pressure at sea level.
Read more »
