High Speed Trains

So I was browsing around and I found something really interesting.

http://io9.com/5413145/super-high-speed-trains-might-be-a-part-of-your-future-holiday-travel-plans



It's a mostly foreign thing right now, with high speed trains overseas that can go much, much faster than any passenger train in the US as of right now. Specifically, Japan is experimenting with the Maglev, a magnetically powered super high speed train that has been clocked at 500 km/h. It's pretty spectacular, as it uses the same kind of technology (albeit on a larger, faster scale) as certain newer roller coasters.



The Japanese Maglev operates on the same principle that you can use magnets to propel something on a track at ridiculous speeds, except that instead of propelling a roller coaster train up an incline, it can power a passenger train for hundreds of miles.

It's a really interesting prospect, something that honestly would be pretty cool. However, for it to become a mainstream reality it once again has to jump over some steep hurdles. First of all, the US rail system would obviously not work for this, and you would need a ton of money (and obvious approval by Congress etc... which is another story altogether) and it would ALSO have to find a way to supply the power.

Magnets by themselves can't produce the type of force required to do this, there has to be a current induced on the magnets to produce the force that will pull on the train. This current must be supplied by electrical power - which varies in "greenness".