Maglev – hands-on quantum physics

Below a critical temperature, certain materials can become superconducting. When this happens, their electrical resistance disappears completely. The Meissner–Ochsenfeld effect causes magnetic fields to be expelled from the interior of the superconductor. The resulting shielding currents , together with a process known as flux pinning, enable stable levitation above the magnetic track – without the need for a continuous energy supply to maintain levitation.

Whilst commercial maglev trains have so far used other levitation principles, superconducting systems are already being intensively researched and tested.

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