Tag Archives: attract

My Maglev Train reflection

In this post I will explain how my group struggled to create my train to levitate, my final working levitating track, and what I learned from the process of creating a maglev train with a group.

When we first got our materials for the maglev train, our original plan was to put all the magnets in line one next to the others in line but the problem with that was that the sides of the magnets are also magnetic, causing the magnetic poles (north and north)  to repel against each other move around when they are all facing the same way as the magnets on the bottom of the car to levitate.

Then an idea shot to my head. If we only used 2 magnets on the sides they could face the same way because the magnetic forces are not strong enough to push away each other and it will be able to hold the piece of styrofoam. This worked successfully because not only were  the long magnets able to stay in place, but the magnetic forces were still strong enough to hold the piece of styrofoam in the air with a cup and marbles on it.

A couple of  things that I have learned through the engineer design process is to work with a group and let everybody share their ideas, how magnets work and how they attract to each other and levitate against each other, and how magnetic fields work, And lastly I learned other uses for magnets then just magnet tiles and magnets that go on cars and refrigerator. Doctors also use magnets to take a look inside a persons body without having to do any surgery!

                                                            Thanks for reading my post