maglev trains

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by shadow67

I have also gone to this site Tubular Electromagnet E-66-38 Magnetic Sensor Systems
can somebody please go to this site and tell me if this will have the same effect as wrapping lots of thin copper insulated wire on an iron nail or bar. PLEASE!!!

This “how do I make an electromagnet” page describes and has photos of what I’ve been suggesting. Note that you don’t have to follow it exactly – your nail could be a bit smaller or larger (they suggest a 6” nail), and you’re planning to use a 9V battery instead of “one or more [1.5V] D-cells batteries”.

I wouldn’t worry about the electomagnets being too strong and pulling the car down – if they are, you can just remove some windings to reduce their strength.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by PM from shadow67

… does the copper wire or electromagnet attract the train?

Technically, neither. The electromagnet creates a magnetic field, as does the magnetic materials in the train. The fields are what create the forces that make things move.

What’s really happening can get very deep, but it’s accurate to say magnetic force is due to the interaction of fermions (matter, like nails and magnets) with bosons (in the case of magnetic force, photons). You can easily spend months or years studying the physics of even the most simple-seeming mechanical things. I highly recommend it.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by PM from shadow67

hey craig can you please go to RadioShack- Audio/Video Electronics, MP3, LCD TVs, GPS, Digital Cameras, DVD Players, Accessories
and recommend me a switch for the electromagnet please. thanks

This center-off DPDT toggle switch does practically everything a switch can do, but at $3.49 each, would increase the cost of your project considerable, especially if you have a lot of electromagnets in your final design. The slide switches you posted earlier don’t have a center-off position, but are much cheaper.

Keep in mind that you can make lots of simple, low-power switches from scratch, using various arrangements of conductors like sheet steel, for a few dollars and a bit of craftiness and time.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by PM from shadow67

how do i know that the electromagnets are going to push the train front and not backwards towards the station cause' the magnetic field is in a circular motion?

Because your train car it itself a magnet, the electromagnet will attract it if unlike pole of the car and the electromagnet are pointed toward one another, repelled from it if like ones are. If the car was not a magnet, just a magnetic material, it would be attracted to either pole of the electromagnet.

Keep in mind that, although it’s traditional to draw magnetic fields using arrows (eg: GSU’s “HyperPhysics” “Iron Core Solenoid”), this doesn’t mean they’re in “circular motion”. By convention, the arrows point in the direction that the N pole of a compass placed at that location in the field would point.

Time to get building, I think. Many questions raised in this thread are better answered by hands-on experience than words.

[InfiniteNow]

Shadow,

Craig is being nice about it, but I'll be more blunt. Post your quesitons in the forum and don't abuse the Private Message (PM) system. Other users can benefit from both your questions and the answers provided. Cheers.

[GAHD]

looks like you got it well in hand man, you should post some sketches or pictures of your model too

[shadow67]

pictures and sketches coming soon