Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Elevators on the Way

January 17, 2006

An AP report today says that the first magnetic levitation (maglev) elevators will be coming on the market as soon as 2008. AP cites an announcement from Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems of Tokyo, who says they will employ maglev technology to drive lifts that will be "quieter and more comfortable" but slower than conventional lifts.

I looked around for illustrations of maglev technology used in lifts and found an interesting video of a maglev elevator demo by MagneMotion.

From what I know, the greatest current application of maglev technology is in train transportation (I was going to say "rail transportation," but that would probably be wrong!) This article by Howstuffworks has a great photo and drawing of a maglev train guideway in Japan.

Maglev has also been proposed as a means to accelerate vehicles for space launch -- go here for an article about this, with some interesting photos and a computer model of a maglev launch system.

AB -- 1/17/06

Related Tags: maglev technology, maglev, technology, lifts