Maglev

Maglev is a transport system that uses magnetic forces to lift and propel vehicles without conventional wheel–rail contact.

Electrodynamic suspension: A levitation method in which motion induces currents that create repulsive magnetic forces between a vehicle and guideway. It explains how Japanese superconducting maglev trains gain lift as they accelerate.
Shanghai Maglev Train: A commercial high-speed maglev line connecting Shanghai Pudong International Airport with Longyang Road station. It demonstrates high-speed commercial operation using electromagnetic suspension.
High-speed rail: Passenger rail transport operating at substantially higher speeds than conventional railway service. Steel-wheel high-speed trains achieve comparable transport goals with established wheel–rail technology.
Guideway: A track or pathway that constrains and supports the movement of a transport vehicle. Maglev requires a purpose-built guideway whose coils, geometry, and tolerances replace ordinary track infrastructure.
Hermann Kemper: A German engineer who developed and patented an early electromagnetic railway concept in the 1930s. His patent established an early technical foundation for modern maglev development.
Linear motor: An electric motor whose magnetic field produces force along a straight path rather than around a rotating shaft. Maglev guideways use linear motors to propel vehicles without onboard rotary drive wheels.
Chūō Shinkansen: A planned Japanese high-speed railway using superconducting maglev technology between Tokyo and Osaka. Its design illustrates the long-distance ambitions and infrastructure demands of maglev.
Wheel–rail interface: The contact between railway wheels and rails that supports, guides, and propels conventional trains. Maglev removes this interface, eliminating rolling contact but requiring a specialized guideway.
Aerodynamic drag: The force opposing an object's motion through air, increasing strongly with speed. At high speeds it dominates energy use, limiting the benefit of eliminating wheel–rail friction.
Magnetic levitation train patents: Patent disclosures describing transport vehicles supported and propelled through magnetic forces. Kemper's 1930s work helped turn magnetic railway concepts into a defined engineering proposal.

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