(05-03-2016 01:58 PM)FTW ODU Wrote: Why are we trying to reinvent the wheel when China already has a working MAGLEV system? I never understood this.
ODU's system is a Smart Train / Dumb Track set up. The longterm costs of a different set up would be much less then a Dumb Train / Smart Track set up.
On a large scale, the cost savings would be huge, allowing for it to me more competitive with other transportation systems.
Imagine how expensive it would be to ship cargo via rail, was vastly more expensive and complicated than just two metal beams secured into place. A majority of the technology improvements in train systems have been on the engine with outliving to replace existing railways.
Now switch this to a maglev system. Once the maglev rail is laid down, it would be faster/cheaper to improve a train over tens, hundreds, or thousands of miles of maglev rail.
I interned at 3M years ago and we were trying to make a better type of fiberoptic cable that result in less loss of light/data. On a small scale it wasn't all the impressive, but being able to run these cable systems on the ocean floor for thousands of miles with less signal booster systems was a huge deal.
The system that ODU has installed was full of some very complex engineering over sites. I don't think a working system existed before ODU purchased it. (Bad move on the administration at the time)
Sure it's an eye sore, but IF ODU can figure it out it might change how people travel within the US. Even if a system doesn't get put in here, there are other nations that would probably install them. I'm sure ODU could get a nice chunk of change out of licensing the tech on just 1 instillation.
Granted there are other competing technologies that are on the horizon now that might make a Maglev system obsolete. (Hyper loop, automated cars/busses)