It may surprise some of you that beneath my calm personality and gentle attitude, there lies a crazy obsession with racing and speed. So, in honor of my extraordinary passion, I’m going to continue my journey of discovering some of the fastest things ever build. Transportation’s technology is quickly progressing, and some of the world’s super powers are striving to compete and innovate to keep up with this rapid progress. Thus, when mentioning technology, I can’t help but to stop and introduce to you one of the most outrageous-quick machines humans have ever strapped themselves into.
It is the JR-Maglev, the fastest train ever-build. Nowadays, trains are a fast and inexpensive way of traveling and thus many Asian countries really focused on the aspect of renovating this form of transportation for faster traveling and better convenience. According to railwaysworld.blogspot.com, the “JR-Maglev is a maglev system developed by the Japan Railway Technical Research Institute JRTRI (association of Japan Railway Group).” This is a government funded project initiated by Japan Airlines and the former JNR. and has been in development since the 1970’s. According to railwaysworld.blogspot.com, “the Japanese maglev trains make use of modern superconducting magnets, which allow for a larger gap, and repulsive-type Electro-Dynamic Suspension (EDS). (In comparison, the German Transrapid uses conventional electromagnets and attractive-type Electro-Magnetic Suspension (EMS)).”
For more photos, please visit this link:
http://magnetbahnforum.de/index.php?Photos-5
On December 2, 2003, a three-car train set (JR-Maglev MLX01) reached a maximum speed of 581 km/h (361 mph) in a manned vehicle run. “The Japanese Maglev Trains technically are able to reach much higher speeds; the current world record of 581 km/h is a comparatively low speed for a HST Maglev train – due to the relatively short track that is currently available. With the extension of the track, a significantly higher world record comes into reach.” Some research experts believe that the Maglev train is capable of reaching 500 mph on the extended long reaching tracks. If this is true, than this high-speed land travel vehicle might be able to replace Air travel in some parts of the world, due to its easy access and inexpensive rates.
According to ebongeek.com, “in countries like Japan, Germany and China, cutting edge research in this area is advancing rapidly. The German Transrapid system, the Japanese JR Maglev and China’s Shanghai Maglev Train are leading the way to a new era of passenger train travel. Despite questions of cost and return on investment, China is boldly forging ahead with its plans to become the global leader in 21st century high-speed passenger travel.” According to ebongeek.com, the United States’ divisive nature of politics coupling with an ever-shrinking tax base to support large scale transportation projects, means that it is highly unlikely that the USA will ever see such systems become a reality.
Finally, this train is incredible in every way, form and shape. Its high reliability on new magnetic technology makes it environment friendly, mostly because it doesn’t burn fossil fuels. Although, the most astonishing aspect is its speed, this train shocked many who long wondered if high land speeds are ever going to be safely reached. This train proves the theory and makes the dream a reality.
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