With all the talk and development of Maglev Trains, I wonder why the managing magnets have not used this same idea in making Maglev Cars. The technology and research development in magnetic motors and electromagnetic generation have really begun to materialize because of Global Warming with the steep increase to Oil prices along with increases to prices of renewable energy resources such as Ethanol and Biofuels.
It wouldn't take much to realize that cars could be powered by the same Maglev levitation giving significant benefits to society than the present system of Transportation. The Maglev tracks could be positioned on our present highway system, with similar guardrail configurations that would provide the cars and trucks with levitation needed to propel them down the road.
http://www.rtri.or.jp/rd/maglev/html/english/maglev_frame_E.html
http://www.rtri.or.jp/rd/maglev/html/english/maglev_frame_E.html
I think this would greatly benefit our American transportation system, because these cars would actually be making electricity for the grid. They would be running just like a generator operates.Our driving habits might change such as the inability to pass people, but the speeds would be increased so who would need to pass anyway? Road maintenance costs would shift and snow removal would be more of a melting process than using snow plows and salt trucks. Just think no more need to fill up at gas stations, and a transportation system that essentially stays usable all by itself despite weather conditions and traffic.
http://www.rtri.or.jp/rd/maglev/html/english/maglev_frame_E.html
http://www.rtri.or.jp/rd/maglev/html/english/maglev_frame_E.html
Granted the cars would need electricity to run, but the cost in paying the electric would be shared by all. Power sources could come from Wind, Solar, Geothermal, and the Cars themselves as they move along the track. As they use energy they are creating it too. This is a far better energy transportation management plan than our present crippled fossil fuel enterprise that is headed for the oil grave yards. And the need for recharging batteries becomes a secondary power reserve; for instance when you drive off the Auto Maglev Transportation Highway to do some driving in the countryside, or to a neighborhood not yet developed for immediate access to the line.
Car batteries could be recharged while traveling on the Auto Maglev Expressway, for free since your car would also be generating electricity as it moves along the track. This would make America the first to have Maglev Transportation for the individual and for Private Cars, instead of only having the Maglev Trains in Germany, Japan, and now China where I have been living since 911 hit my home-state in New York.
The Maglev Train is being built right outside my front door, in Nanning. I really think Nanning is making a smart move with this development making it a hub that will connect to Hong Kong, then to Shanghai and Beijing. I am sure they will do something in connecting it to Macao and to Taiwan.
When things really start to get exciting is when they do a combined link to connect Japan. America is far behind in this technology and is why I write. If America can develop a personal Maglev Car infrastructure, I think they will have a certain level of independence from Train Infrastructures.
George Bush and his budget is so far behind the times, it is embarrassing to say the least. He should be getting Israel and Egypt, and Iraq, and Iran to develop the Maglev Trains, to make them realize we are not after their oil resources. This news alone would forge more cooperation that we are not invaders to occupy their lands to take their oil resources.
Of course Bush will deny this, but he can not convince the Iraqi people that fact. Only action in policies can change our present conditions. Maglev the Troops Home I say. I am all for this new Technology to take us out of our troubles, it is getting politicians to address issues that really move America forward. This national endeavor alone would create more jobs than you can shake a stick at, and it would be based upon an Environmental criterion, something environmentalist will surely support.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/ccts/webquest/index.html