Maglev elevators to scare us all by 2008
By Evan Blass 
posted January 17th 2006 7:30PM
posted January 17th 2006 7:30PM
After having recently
been stuck in a dark elevator for over a half-hour (and requiring a fire department rescue; thank heavens our PPC-6700 was close at hand to summon help and Orb away the
downtime), we're not all that jazzed up about the idea of an elevator that relies on the principal of magnetic
levitation. Maglev technology has been around for years as the propulsion method behind certain European and Asian
trains, and basically involves using the Physics 101 properties of magnetic attraction and repulsion to provide an
object with momentum. Well we're fine if that momentum is occuring parallel to the ground, but we're a little leery of
trusting some magnets to suspend us several hundred feet above terra firma (does power outage=free fall?). Seemingly
unconcerned with our hesitation, Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp. has announced that we'll be seeing these
potential deathtraps commercially installed within the next few years, hopefully with the Otis-type hacks still fully functional.
some one will tamper with the maglevator and turn it into a mag gun and shoot it up to the ceiling.
Turbolift anyone?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbolift
They're building a maglev shuttle at my school...it's SO sketchy.
Check out this link:
http://www.odu.edu/af/maglev/index.html
You can't possibly believe that anything released today would be that unsafe...nobody is allowed to release an unsafe product anymore. Nobody is willing to, either. I think this will end up like the roller coaster phobia, where people THINK it's dangerous but in reality it's quite safe. Just my $0.02.
unless you are fat. then you overload the restraining bars and fly out and land with a splat.
Will the magnetism affect anything? I'd hate to walk into an elevator and watch my phone fly out of my pocket and stick to the ceiling. Or nearby computers and whatnot?
We are doing a maglev project in out design/technology class now. Fun stuff.
I have one word for you:
MONORAIL! MONORAIL! MONORAIL!
Well, there are MAGLEV trains that run at 500 kph. It seems practical that that type of technology would spread out to other industries.
I wouldnt be surprised if MAGLEV is incorporated into the Orbital Elevator NASA is crazy over
the primary motivator is far fewer moving parts. No pulleys, motors, greesy bearings or much that requires a technician. Just solidstate electronics. C'mon - you geeks can get behind that, no? Of course, just like modern cable-pully elevators, there will be fail safes. And most existing elevators, i would guess, are equipped with some means of being lowered (and raised) during a power outtage now. Why should new ones be any different.
Maybe they generate electricity during descent... would they still be counter balanced? Probably.
There is a difference between geeks and yuppies, you know.
Today's elevators relay on a cable system to raise and lower the elevator car. If the cable should fail, their is a series of safety braking mechanism that kick in to prevent the car from freefall. In a MagLev elevator, the cable is replaced by magnetic propulsion...I don't believe they will through away the safety braking systems. This is something that you guys should of realized before sending every clautrophobic into a panic.
I'm glad they're using this technology. As for the fears of it not working. Just remember that they will have safety actions such as brakes if anything were to happen.
Now, hopefully they will make them move left-to-right as well. "Elevator...take me to 3rd floor and all the way to the other end of the terminal at the airport please".
As 'scary' as the concept is, I agree with #2 100%.
There's no way something of this genre that could endanger people would be released to public use anymore. Cellphones, computers, batteries, trains, planes and elevators all go through rigerous testing before they're even put into production.
Will still be in Tokyo in 2008? I'd better be, i wanna ride this biz-niatch.
If they used magnetic eddy-current braking (like the "drop zone" at Great America), it would be safe as long as it was magnetic (do they use permanent magnets?). Just magnets and copper plates. If they have to be electromagnets, well, I like simple mechanical drop protection.
Don't you mean physics 103?
Ravitek, #4, yeah, what an issue.
My daughter was just fitted with another, newer intracranial shunt to move spinal fluid away from the brain. Guess what- it is reprogrammed by magnetism. She cannot have an MRI because the shunt will quit working after.
So ya gotta wonder...
I would think there would be a physical safety rope thingy attached to the top that would kick in if something goes wrong.
The whole maglev thing will probably be cheaper to make and run in the end, hence why they are developing them.
Peter
http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/115.html
I'm sure the brakes will still be there.
OK, first time poster; long time listener....
But I got to say I laughed my ass off at the "we'll be seeing these potential deathtraps commercially installed within the next few years" remark". I have been wondering about that myself for a while now!
"does power outage=free fall?"
Welcome to the dark ages, where we can make an elevator traverse hundreds of feet in near record times, but were too stupid to keep it from crashing to the ground in case of a power outtage.
Seriously. Who wrote this, the resident Engadget quaker?
No matter what mankind achieves there is always going to be SOMEONE out there going "duuuuuuuuuuuuuh, your obviously stupid enough to forget something so obvious".
I agree with #4, and especially #11. Like "granny down east" someone I love (my wife) has a shunt that's reprogrammed the same way.
I would assume, though, that the magnets involved are somehow localized, and not just blasting magnetic radiation every-which-way.
At least, I hope so, for my wife's, and others' sake.
ever heard of this guy named Elisha Otis?
what do you think happens when the power goes out in today's elevators? The motors stop, and although there are counterweights, the weight of the passengers would pull the elevator down.
you really think maglev elevators wouldn't come with a safety brake?
besides, don't you want to start calling elevators "maglevators"?
Alcaron
"Seriously. Who wrote this, the resident Engadget quaker?"
Good job insulting an entire religion, wrongly at that. It's the Amish who refuse technology. Nice job showing true ignorance.
They actualy use magnets on freefall rides to stop the vehicle from hitting the ground.
They have a set of magnets on the ride vehicle and another at the base of the freefall tower to stop the vehicle.
The magnets that they use do not require any power.
here is a link to an image with the magnetic breaks.
Maglev would not work for the space elevator. The key to that technology is the carbon tube based ribbon that the elevator crawls up to get to orbit. This ribbon is and must be VERY lightweight.
MagLev requires an interaction between electromagnets both in the track and the car. Thus, the sheer weight of the mechanics on the track would prevent it from being used for the space elevator.
well, actually.
you know that ride with the tall tower, where they use compressed air to shoot you up and then you fall back down and stop?
they use magnetic brakes for that, because they're more reliable and don't wear out.
so a mag-lev elevator could have a magnet brake array at the bottom, so even though it'd be a rather hair-raising ride, it would stop safely.
curent technologies that stop elevators from falling if the cable snaps could also be used...
Maybe they're just trying to beat their own, current, world record of ~37 MPH.
http://www2.toshiba-elevator.co.jp/elv/infoeng/pressrelease/20041216e.jsp
oh yea, and now that i've thought about it a bit: the actual magnetic drive could be used solely on the counterweight, so magnetic problems wouldn't affect the passenger car.
#19: Who gives a shit?
Dudes, it's been 153 years since Mr. Otis cut the cable on the elevator and showed off his 'wonderous' safety-break. The crowds were wowed at this magnificent technology. I hope the writers at Engadget aren't.
I think you're safe if the power fails.
http://www.otis.com/news/newsdetail/0,1368,cli1_nid16925_res1,00.html
To save other commenters the time, I was joking about the risks of falling; I'm sure these elevators have plenty of safety features built in.
In the future I will take pains to clearly indicate which passages contain sarcasm/dry humor.
Evan
And for those worrying about excessive magnetic flux in the passenger area, a slab of iron between the magnets and the passengers would be employed with two purposes in mind. It would shield the internal compartment from the magnetic field, and it would also focus the field to allow weaker magnets than would otherwise be required to be used.
The picture for the article, I must comment, is of the elevator from The Biltmore Estate. I've been in that elevator. It's appropriate for this topic. Heh. :D
It was easily detected, and funny as hell, Evan. Keep it up.
Evan, never forget that the average "Joe Engadget" is 27 years old, works for the Best Buy Geek Squad, and has mild aspergers. He knows everything, and is more likely to laugh at his Cocoa Puffs than anything you write. I suggest adding this to your style sheet:
p.sarcasm:hover{color:8AFB17}
and applying the sarcasm class only when appropriate.
When brainwaves such as poster #10 see that ALL the text on Engadget is turning chartreuse, maybe they will get the point.
Why is a maglev elevator better than the ones we have today ? We've had 150+ years experience with normal elevators and they work just fine. Why do we need to invent a different type of elevator ? Is there something the matter with the ones we have today ? NO ! I say if it ain't broke don't fix it.
#32,
Using that logic, triple-masted east indian trader sailing vessels would still be making the world circuit, we'd all carpool on the backs of horses to get to work, and brain-surgery would be done by the warm, intimate glow of candlelight.
Okay, I know I'm mixing my anachronisms, but you get the point. The philosophy that "if something ain't broke, don't fix it" is rooted in humanity's inherent sloth. EVERYTHING can stand to be improved, and with the revelation of how to improve something our knowledge and understanding of our little piece of the universe expands a LITTLE more...
Hmmm...what's wrong with the stairs (or a long handicap ramp)? I find it ridiculous that some of these buildings being equipped with elevators today are no more than four stories.
That, and the fact Toshiba is going to do what it damn well pleases to make a profit, and everyone will agree soon enough we couldn't imagine what life was like with those archaic cable models of yore. We will have our maglev shafts and bloody well like it with the right propoganda!
Paz.
Of couse we already ride these things - at theme parks...
You've got to have been on Tower of Terror at Universal or something like that - how do they break and shoot you back up - mag lev.
This isn't new technology - its tried and tested.
Ravitek:
I was just about to ask that. What would happen to a computer in there? What happens to a computer in a maglev train? It would be dangerous to people with implants like pacemakers. Hopefully they can shield the elevator car and shaft from the magnets.
#27:
Why are you such a bitch?
Ah, but this is a Wonkavator! It can go upways and downways and front ways and backways and sideways and any other ways you've ever heard of!
#36
Tower of Terror at MGM Studios in Disney World.
Fantastic ride with a great holographic introduction piece to set the mood, which then drops you randomly between 1-4 stories and shoots you back up for another drop.
Can't say I'd want my elevator at work to do this, but the technology is certainly sound.
tower of terror actually uses a heavy duty elevator.
and the monorail at disney runs on wheels, not magnets.
Actually there is an American company that is making maglev elevators only their initial project is a military application - moving bombs/cargo from below decks in the next generation aircraft carriers. I'd speculate that the Navy figures they are safe.
#22
Wow, that just went right over your head, didnt it?