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Some More Facts About Chinese Super-Speed Maglev
15 March 2021
EIRNS—CGTN has an article presenting a few more facts about the 620 kph fast maglev which is under development in China: A prototype maglev train recently unveiled at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, Sichuan Province aims to set a new speed record for trains—the current record of 603 kph is held by Japan’s SCMaglev. China’s answer to it is 620 kph. The new maglev train involves “high-temperature superconductor” technology (HTS), taking advantage of two unique aspects of high-temperature superconductors: the “Meissner effect” which allows a superconductor to completely repel the magnetic fields around it in order to achieve levitation, and “flux pinning,” which keeps the superconductor steady above its magnetic tracks, so it never falls off. “Unlike China’s existing high-speed railway technology and the country’s most iconic maglev line in Shanghai—both technologies which are largely imported, China’s new HTS maglev is 100% developed by its own top scientists,” CGTN writes. “It took over 20 years for this technology to emerge from a university lab to become a real prototype.” Professor Deng Zigang, now taking the lead to develop this technology, told CGTN, “If things go as expected, we may see this train in commercial operation within the next three to five years.” CGTN explains that this prototype train has a body made entirely from carbon fiber and weighs a mere 13 tons. When it levitates, there is virtually no resistance between the train and the tracks. The only force that keeps the train from going even faster is air friction. [rap] China rolls out "super bullet maglev" prototype with 620 km/h top speed |