China unveils 2900 kph super-maglev train

[Raphael]

The 2,900 km/h train: China could soon have maglev faster than commercial jet | RocketNews24

Scientists at Southwest Jiaotong University in China have built a prototype testing platform for a near-vacuum high-speed maglev train that is theoretically capable of reaching speeds up to 2900 km/h or about 1,800 mph. Currently, the fastest commercially operated maglev reaches just 431 km/h and even the world record is just 581 km/hr.

According to project lead Dr. Deng Zigang, this huge increase in speed is achieved through the lack of air resistance in the near-vacuum tunnel.

“If the running speed exceeds 400 kilometers (250 miles) per hour, more than 83 percent of traction energy will wastefully dissipate in air resistance,” he says. Additionally, overcoming that air resistance is loud, making it uncomfortable for passengers.

In his team’s tunnel, they’ve brought the air pressure to 10 times lower than atmospheric pressure at sea level, drastically reducing the amount of energy needed to overcome air resistance.

Currently, the high speed is limited by the size of the testing platform, but with longer straightaways, Deng thinks 2,900 km/h, or nearly three times the speed of a commercial aircraft, could be achieved.

To give you an idea, a train like that could take you from Paris to Moscow in about an hour, meaning you could breakfast on the Champs-Élysées and be in Red Square in time for lunch.

 

[Mr.S.Singh]

technology limitations in this decade doesnt allow this kind of plane to go off drawing board. Not impossible but too expensive as of yet.

 

[ephone]

You will be amazed what technology can bring it into reality so fast and also in economical way.

technology limitations in this decade doesnt allow this kind of plane to go off drawing board. Not impossible but too expensive as of yet.

 

[Mr.S.Singh]

You will be amazed what technology can bring it into reality so fast and also in economical way.

technology does exist, in fact this idea cropped up in early 1980's to connect US & Europe by a vacuum tunnel they had technology then too but proved to be an ineffective business model. i think by 2022-23 this can be made possible.

 

[MightyDragon]

We are just concerned about the technologies used in it, for example, high temperature superconductor...

 

[Mr.S.Singh]

We are just concerned about the technologies used in it, for example, high temperature superconductor...

yes superconducter are a challenge, but friction and maintaining vacuum inside the tunnel is another great challenge. The system has to be flawless, an accident at that speed means immediate disintegration

 

[Kompromat]

It means from one corner of Pakistan to another in 40 or so minutes.

If this technology does turn into a product, it will be nothing less than a revolution.

 

[scorpionx]

This is a massive leap in this age of technological advancement with some bigger implications. Transnational railway network across Europe changed the balance of the world economy in late nineteenth century. And if Chinese scientists are able to put these ultra speed trains on track, the Chinese and the economy of Asia as well will move closer to change the balance in its favor again.

 

[steelseries779]

Useless tech, for now and even next couple of decades. They are so obsessed with speed of trains, why, to cheat on scientific research funds? Many shameless scientists are cheating on governmental grants.

 

[mike2000]

Useless tech, for now and even next couple of decades. They are so obsessed with speed of trains, why, to cheat on scientific research funds? Many shameless scientists are cheating on governmental grants.

I agrre woth you on this. that is exactly what i was thinking. They should focus on more realistic projects like building an indeginous braking equipent, IGBT chip production, door and HVAC system products where they still have to import or manufacture under license/JV from germany and french companies.. They should sort this out before thinking of unrealistic 1000s of km/hour trains. IMO. . Unless the scientist are just trying to get extra/cheat on scientific research funds as you stated(which makes sense)

 

[esolve]

The world’s fastest train is on the way, although the technology remains at a testing stage in the laboratory.

China is testing the so-called super-maglev train, which operates in a vacuum tube and could reach as high as 2,900 kilometers per hour, Hong Kong Commercial Daily reported Monday.

Chinese researchers at the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory of Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu have successfully tested a concept train encapsulated in a vacuum tube, which would help reduce the speed limitations imposed by air resistance on regular maglev trains.

Dr. Deng Zigang, who led the project, said his team has already successfully reached a speed of 25 km per minute, and researchers are now working on a vacuum tube, which could lift the speed limit to 50 km per minute in the future.

If successful, that would mark a great breakthrough in China’s ambitious plan to export the high-speed train to the United States.

China is now in talks to build a high-speed railway that would connect the Chinese capital Beijing with the continental US. The China-US rail link may use the magnetic levitation technology, according to media reports.

The entire journey from China to the US would take only two days.

Currently, the Shanghai Maglev Train connecting Pudong International Airport and Longyang Road subway station operates at a speed of over 430 kilometers per hour, making it the world’s fastest passenger-carrying train.

 

[INDIC]

This is nothing new, more speed of Maglev only need more investment, increasing speed is no bar.

 

[Kloitra]

This is nothing new, more speed of Maglev only need more investment, increasing speed is no bar.

Not when you are going for supersonic speeds.

 

[INDIC]

Not when you are going for supersonic speeds.

Maglev has poor commercial value if speed goes too high. That's why the researchers in Westerner countries only working on the speed between 500-600 kmph.

 

[Kloitra]

Maglev has poor commercial value if speed goes too high. That's why the researchers in Westerner countries only working on the speed between 500-600 kmph.

That's a given, especially when you need vacuum tubes. But having a know how is a good thing.