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Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:01,900 --> 00:00:04,535 Today on "Impossible engineering," 2 00:00:04,537 --> 00:00:07,038 the Shanghai Maglev... The fastest passenger train 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,574 on the planet, with a top operating speed 4 00:00:09,576 --> 00:00:12,543 of 268 miles per hour. 5 00:00:12,545 --> 00:00:15,913 The Maglev is faster than the formula one car. 6 00:00:15,915 --> 00:00:17,882 It is flying along. 7 00:00:17,884 --> 00:00:21,919 A train that defies the most basic laws of motion. 8 00:00:21,921 --> 00:00:25,356 The thing that's different and very unique 9 00:00:25,358 --> 00:00:28,793 about the Maglev is the fact that it floats. 10 00:00:28,795 --> 00:00:31,462 It took centuries of innovation 11 00:00:31,464 --> 00:00:33,464 and experimentation... 12 00:00:33,466 --> 00:00:35,867 Wow, it looks like something out of the future. 13 00:00:35,869 --> 00:00:39,370 To make the impossible possible. 14 00:00:40,906 --> 00:00:43,908 Captions by vitac www.Vitac.Com 15 00:00:43,910 --> 00:00:46,911 captions paid for by Discovery communications 16 00:00:50,916 --> 00:00:53,985 China is a country on the rise. 17 00:00:53,987 --> 00:00:57,655 Its largest and wealthiest city, Shanghai, 18 00:00:57,657 --> 00:01:00,525 attracts people from all over the world 19 00:01:00,527 --> 00:01:01,859 with its ambition. 20 00:01:01,861 --> 00:01:03,828 As Shanghai's population increases, 21 00:01:03,830 --> 00:01:06,798 so does its demand for space. 22 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:11,002 The city faces heavy traffic jams 23 00:01:11,004 --> 00:01:13,771 and congestion on a daily basis. 24 00:01:16,041 --> 00:01:18,109 Shanghai is busy. 25 00:01:18,111 --> 00:01:20,311 Cars, as well as buildings, 26 00:01:20,313 --> 00:01:22,713 fight for space on the ground. 27 00:01:22,715 --> 00:01:27,018 It can be very difficult to move around. 28 00:01:27,020 --> 00:01:29,554 By the beginning of the 21st century, 29 00:01:29,556 --> 00:01:31,889 Shanghai streets were at maximum capacity. 30 00:01:34,026 --> 00:01:36,294 A heavily congested eight-Lane highway 31 00:01:36,296 --> 00:01:38,663 was the city's only link 32 00:01:38,665 --> 00:01:41,299 to the Pudong international airport. 33 00:01:45,604 --> 00:01:48,306 To get to the airport by car, 34 00:01:48,308 --> 00:01:49,974 it takes 45 minutes. 35 00:01:49,976 --> 00:01:53,511 You really need something to cut through the city 36 00:01:53,513 --> 00:01:57,148 to get to the airport without stopping 37 00:01:57,150 --> 00:02:01,018 and without encountering any other vehicles. 38 00:02:01,020 --> 00:02:02,954 I, like most people in this city, 39 00:02:02,956 --> 00:02:05,756 don't have time to sit in traffic. 40 00:02:21,740 --> 00:02:23,875 China's solution... 41 00:02:23,877 --> 00:02:27,612 The Shanghai Maglev, or transrapid... 42 00:02:32,317 --> 00:02:33,918 A cutting-edge, 43 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:36,687 high-speed train, the fastest in the world. 44 00:02:39,124 --> 00:02:41,993 The thing that's different and very unique 45 00:02:41,995 --> 00:02:44,829 about the Maglev is the fact that it floats. 46 00:02:44,831 --> 00:02:47,565 It hasn't got any wheels. 47 00:02:47,567 --> 00:02:51,168 It floats across the guideway all the way to the airport. 48 00:02:52,905 --> 00:02:56,474 Now the Maglev is just about to pull out of the station. 49 00:02:56,476 --> 00:02:58,910 When it's at its top speed, 50 00:02:58,912 --> 00:03:03,314 it'll be moving at 431 kilometers an hour. 51 00:03:03,316 --> 00:03:07,652 That is just beyond belief, incredible. 52 00:03:16,028 --> 00:03:18,362 To design a passenger train 53 00:03:18,364 --> 00:03:20,798 capable of reaching 268 miles per hour, 54 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:22,967 the Maglev's engineering team had to toss out 55 00:03:22,969 --> 00:03:24,468 many of the design features 56 00:03:24,470 --> 00:03:26,304 we've come to associate with trains. 57 00:03:27,607 --> 00:03:30,975 First, their train wouldn't have an engine. 58 00:03:30,977 --> 00:03:33,077 Huh? 59 00:03:33,079 --> 00:03:35,279 Then they would do away with one of engineering's 60 00:03:35,281 --> 00:03:38,716 most fundamental inventions... The wheel. 61 00:03:40,953 --> 00:03:44,755 Finally, they would defy the most basic laws of motion. 62 00:03:46,758 --> 00:03:49,060 Ow! 63 00:03:49,062 --> 00:03:50,561 Ooh! 64 00:03:50,563 --> 00:03:52,763 Wow! Ooh! 65 00:04:00,138 --> 00:04:02,139 But before engineers could design 66 00:04:02,141 --> 00:04:04,775 their futuristic train with no engine or wheels, 67 00:04:04,777 --> 00:04:07,411 they had to figure out a way to fit it 68 00:04:07,413 --> 00:04:10,614 into the already overcrowded streets of Shanghai. 69 00:04:15,287 --> 00:04:17,154 Shanghai is one of 70 00:04:17,156 --> 00:04:20,524 the most heavily populated cities in the world, 71 00:04:20,526 --> 00:04:22,593 and the population is increasing. 72 00:04:22,595 --> 00:04:27,031 Now, building the infrastructure it needs is very challenging 73 00:04:27,033 --> 00:04:29,467 just because there is no space. 74 00:04:29,469 --> 00:04:31,802 Like all the buildings around here, 75 00:04:31,804 --> 00:04:34,672 the only place really to build is to go up. 76 00:04:49,921 --> 00:04:53,891 Chicago is one of the world's busiest cities. 77 00:04:56,561 --> 00:04:59,397 The logistical challenge of moving around its inhabitants 78 00:04:59,399 --> 00:05:01,832 is a daunting task... 79 00:05:04,736 --> 00:05:08,272 But the city's early planners came up with an idea 80 00:05:08,274 --> 00:05:13,044 over 100 years ago that still keeps the city moving today. 81 00:05:13,046 --> 00:05:15,112 In the late 19th century, 82 00:05:15,114 --> 00:05:18,115 Chicago is one of the fastest-growing cities, 83 00:05:18,117 --> 00:05:20,317 if not the fastest-growing city in the world. 84 00:05:20,319 --> 00:05:21,819 In the 1840s, 85 00:05:21,821 --> 00:05:23,821 shortly after the city was established, 86 00:05:23,823 --> 00:05:25,623 we had roughly about 4,000 people. 87 00:05:25,625 --> 00:05:28,826 And by 1900, we've got over a million and a half. 88 00:05:28,828 --> 00:05:31,462 Our city is rapidly expanding. 89 00:05:31,464 --> 00:05:35,166 It's almost the Shanghai of the late 19th century. 90 00:05:35,168 --> 00:05:38,235 So, how did engineers 91 00:05:38,237 --> 00:05:40,871 and planners deal with the need 92 00:05:40,873 --> 00:05:43,140 to transport the city's growing population 93 00:05:43,142 --> 00:05:48,913 without clogging the busy city streets even further? 94 00:05:56,121 --> 00:05:59,390 So this is the solution that was developed, 95 00:05:59,392 --> 00:06:03,594 to elevate the city's rail lines above the street traffic. 96 00:06:03,596 --> 00:06:07,798 Although it's not cheap to do this type of infrastructure, 97 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,134 it is cheaper, of course, than building subways. 98 00:06:14,139 --> 00:06:17,174 Work began on Chicago's train in 1892... 99 00:06:20,745 --> 00:06:22,813 But building tracks 30 feet above 100 00:06:22,815 --> 00:06:26,484 the city streets was not welcomed by everybody. 101 00:06:30,423 --> 00:06:32,256 Third-floor apartment tenants 102 00:06:32,258 --> 00:06:34,625 now had to keep their curtains closed if they wanted privacy, 103 00:06:34,627 --> 00:06:38,028 and young women were warned to be careful 104 00:06:38,030 --> 00:06:40,965 of roving, railborne Peeping Toms. 105 00:06:43,068 --> 00:06:46,737 Nevertheless, the system was a big hit for most. 106 00:06:46,739 --> 00:06:51,609 It was lovingly nicknamed the "I," short for elevated. 107 00:06:55,914 --> 00:06:58,182 We're here at Quincy. 108 00:06:58,184 --> 00:07:01,018 This "I" station has been restored, 109 00:07:01,020 --> 00:07:03,988 and it gives us a sense of what commuters would have seen 110 00:07:03,990 --> 00:07:05,523 in the late 1890s. 111 00:07:05,525 --> 00:07:09,493 And the basic concept of moving people in and out of the city 112 00:07:09,495 --> 00:07:11,295 at a different level 113 00:07:11,297 --> 00:07:14,298 than street level has not changed since then. 114 00:07:14,300 --> 00:07:16,934 Elevating the city's train 115 00:07:16,936 --> 00:07:19,069 was a solution so successful 116 00:07:19,071 --> 00:07:21,238 that, more than 120 years later, 117 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,240 the "I" is still transporting 118 00:07:23,242 --> 00:07:25,576 a half-million passengers each day. 119 00:07:27,646 --> 00:07:29,914 The growth of the "I" 120 00:07:29,916 --> 00:07:31,982 and the growth of Chicago are synonymous. 121 00:07:31,984 --> 00:07:33,918 The boom of population 122 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:35,786 in the late 19th century follows right along 123 00:07:35,788 --> 00:07:37,922 with the growth of this transit system. 124 00:07:37,924 --> 00:07:41,425 And I don't think, without the "I," we would have had 125 00:07:41,427 --> 00:07:43,694 this great, vibrant American city that we have today. 126 00:07:52,704 --> 00:07:55,272 Engineers of the Shanghai Maglev 127 00:07:55,274 --> 00:07:57,441 are taking Chicago's idea 128 00:07:57,443 --> 00:07:59,043 of an elevated passenger train... 129 00:08:00,145 --> 00:08:02,513 Ooh! 130 00:08:02,515 --> 00:08:03,847 That was fast. 131 00:08:03,849 --> 00:08:07,151 ...And giving it a 21st century twist. 132 00:08:20,498 --> 00:08:23,200 Engineers of the Shanghai Maglev 133 00:08:23,202 --> 00:08:25,836 have taken Chicago's century-old solution 134 00:08:25,838 --> 00:08:28,472 of an elevated railroad and created their own 135 00:08:28,474 --> 00:08:31,675 19-mile guideway high above the city streets. 136 00:08:31,677 --> 00:08:34,878 The advantage a system like this has 137 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,182 in already built-up urban spaces 138 00:08:38,184 --> 00:08:40,684 is it's very easy to install. 139 00:08:40,686 --> 00:08:42,553 It doesn't interfere 140 00:08:42,555 --> 00:08:44,355 with underground services. 141 00:08:44,357 --> 00:08:46,890 It doesn't interfere with existing 142 00:08:46,892 --> 00:08:49,893 infrastructure at ground level, which is really good. 143 00:08:52,230 --> 00:08:54,231 But building an elevated guideway 144 00:08:54,233 --> 00:08:57,434 in this part of the world 145 00:08:57,436 --> 00:09:00,871 came with some unique challenges. 146 00:09:00,873 --> 00:09:05,342 Shanghai sits in an area of great seismic activity. 147 00:09:05,344 --> 00:09:08,712 It also has weak Clay soil. 148 00:09:08,714 --> 00:09:11,982 The risk of liquefaction is very high. 149 00:09:14,419 --> 00:09:16,453 Liquefaction is an unusual 150 00:09:16,455 --> 00:09:18,122 and dramatic phenomenon 151 00:09:18,124 --> 00:09:20,791 that can occur during an earthquake, 152 00:09:20,793 --> 00:09:23,894 when solid ground turns to mush. 153 00:09:23,896 --> 00:09:25,429 Aah! 154 00:09:25,431 --> 00:09:28,832 Physicist Andrew Steele 155 00:09:28,834 --> 00:09:31,435 has prepared a simple demonstration 156 00:09:31,437 --> 00:09:33,504 to show how liquefaction works. 157 00:09:37,676 --> 00:09:39,910 So this water represents the groundwater. 158 00:09:39,912 --> 00:09:41,679 This ground has got a very high water table, 159 00:09:41,681 --> 00:09:43,013 so it's only got a thin layer 160 00:09:43,015 --> 00:09:46,283 of dry soil on top of the saturated soil underneath. 161 00:09:46,285 --> 00:09:49,853 So, imagine you build on this land, 162 00:09:49,855 --> 00:09:51,955 you construct your beautiful city. 163 00:09:51,957 --> 00:09:53,957 But you built on Sandy soil, 164 00:09:53,959 --> 00:09:55,926 and you build on a fault line. 165 00:09:55,928 --> 00:09:58,595 So there's the danger of an earthquake. 166 00:10:02,767 --> 00:10:05,002 You can see that, as you shake it, 167 00:10:05,004 --> 00:10:07,171 then the groundwater is forced up 168 00:10:07,173 --> 00:10:09,406 into the top layer of the soil, and that changes its state 169 00:10:09,408 --> 00:10:12,409 from that of a solid to very much behaving like a liquid, 170 00:10:12,411 --> 00:10:14,778 and the buildings are just sinking straight into it. 171 00:10:19,484 --> 00:10:22,419 Earthquakes are a constant threat in Shanghai. 172 00:10:22,421 --> 00:10:24,955 If the ground liquefies, the Maglev's designers 173 00:10:24,957 --> 00:10:26,590 had to ensure the tracks 174 00:10:26,592 --> 00:10:30,260 wouldn't sink into the soft soil. 175 00:10:30,262 --> 00:10:33,831 So engineers developed a technique called piling. 176 00:10:33,833 --> 00:10:38,035 They built each support pier on top of a giant concrete cap. 177 00:10:38,037 --> 00:10:40,671 Underneath the caps are concrete piles, 178 00:10:40,673 --> 00:10:44,525 which are driven 200 feet into the ground. 179 00:10:44,527 --> 00:10:47,194 If the soil near the surface liquefies, 180 00:10:47,196 --> 00:10:51,532 the deep roots will hold the Maglev's track in place. 181 00:10:51,534 --> 00:10:54,268 In less than nine months, 182 00:10:54,270 --> 00:10:58,806 Chinese engineers constructed over 2,500 concrete columns 183 00:10:58,808 --> 00:11:00,307 to support the guideway. 184 00:11:02,477 --> 00:11:06,447 This would be the fastest train in the world. 185 00:11:06,449 --> 00:11:09,383 But trying to get a train up to speeds 186 00:11:09,385 --> 00:11:11,652 pushing 500 kilometers an hour, 187 00:11:11,654 --> 00:11:14,421 designers would be faced with the problem 188 00:11:14,423 --> 00:11:16,857 of wind resistance or drag. 189 00:11:16,859 --> 00:11:20,894 The greater the speed, the greater the resistance. 190 00:11:20,896 --> 00:11:24,331 And all this air movement has 191 00:11:24,333 --> 00:11:27,968 the potential effect of slowing the train down 192 00:11:27,970 --> 00:11:30,137 and wasting valuable energy. 193 00:11:30,139 --> 00:11:32,739 To build a train 194 00:11:32,741 --> 00:11:34,975 that can break 300 miles per hour, 195 00:11:34,977 --> 00:11:36,276 engineers had to look back 196 00:11:36,278 --> 00:11:39,913 to the great innovations of the past for the solution. 197 00:11:45,820 --> 00:11:48,021 The earliest evidence of railroads 198 00:11:48,023 --> 00:11:50,357 can be traced back to ancient Greece. 199 00:11:50,359 --> 00:11:54,528 Men and animals pulled wheeled vehicles in limestone grooves. 200 00:11:56,098 --> 00:11:57,998 The grooves prevented the wagons 201 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,234 from leaving their intended route. 202 00:12:03,038 --> 00:12:06,373 Railroads were developed as a way of reducing friction. 203 00:12:06,375 --> 00:12:09,409 In 1805, the English discovered that a good horse 204 00:12:09,411 --> 00:12:12,713 on an ordinary road could pull a wagon weighing a ton. 205 00:12:16,085 --> 00:12:18,752 But on rails, that same horse could pull 206 00:12:18,754 --> 00:12:22,222 12 wagons each weighing three tons for six miles 207 00:12:22,224 --> 00:12:24,558 in just two hours. 208 00:12:27,328 --> 00:12:28,829 Oh. 209 00:12:28,831 --> 00:12:30,898 When steam power was introduced, 210 00:12:30,900 --> 00:12:32,799 continents could be crossed with ease, 211 00:12:32,801 --> 00:12:34,868 transforming the modern world. 212 00:12:41,309 --> 00:12:44,411 Railroads dramatically changed the way we live. 213 00:12:44,413 --> 00:12:47,548 But throughout the 19th and early 20th century, 214 00:12:47,550 --> 00:12:51,919 train design was at a standstill. 215 00:12:51,921 --> 00:12:54,821 Train design fundamentally hadn't changed for 100 years 216 00:12:54,823 --> 00:12:56,490 since this, stephenson's rocket. 217 00:12:56,492 --> 00:12:58,325 You can see the classic cylindrical boiler. 218 00:12:58,327 --> 00:13:00,294 We got a smokestack at the front, 219 00:13:00,296 --> 00:13:04,965 and its completely snubbed, flat, unaerodynamic nose. 220 00:13:04,967 --> 00:13:07,868 It would take a radical thinker 221 00:13:07,870 --> 00:13:10,204 to shake things up. 222 00:13:13,708 --> 00:13:17,077 And in the 1930s, england steam locomotive engineer 223 00:13:17,079 --> 00:13:20,647 Nigel Gresley designed a new, sleek machine that would, 224 00:13:20,649 --> 00:13:23,283 at the time, be the fastest train in the world... 225 00:13:25,620 --> 00:13:28,021 The Mallard. 226 00:13:28,023 --> 00:13:30,824 Everything about this locomotive is designed to go 227 00:13:30,826 --> 00:13:32,526 as fast as possible. 228 00:13:32,528 --> 00:13:35,862 You've got these massive wheels driving it forward. 229 00:13:35,864 --> 00:13:38,232 We've got a double chimney to suck out the exhaust 230 00:13:38,234 --> 00:13:40,067 as quickly as possible at high speed, 231 00:13:40,069 --> 00:13:43,303 and then you've got this beautiful streamlined shape 232 00:13:43,305 --> 00:13:46,206 in stark contrast to the trains that had come before. 233 00:13:46,208 --> 00:13:48,842 Gresley used a wind tunnel 234 00:13:48,844 --> 00:13:50,444 to develop the Mallard. 235 00:13:50,446 --> 00:13:52,379 Wind tunnels had been used on planes 236 00:13:52,381 --> 00:13:54,414 but never on a train before. 237 00:13:54,416 --> 00:13:57,351 He made some interesting discoveries. 238 00:14:01,289 --> 00:14:04,725 Andrew Steele is visiting a test center called the train rig 239 00:14:04,727 --> 00:14:06,893 to see firsthand the difference 240 00:14:06,895 --> 00:14:10,130 a streamlined train design can create. 241 00:14:10,132 --> 00:14:12,899 This is the test track. It's 150 meters long, 242 00:14:12,901 --> 00:14:15,969 and we can accelerate trains to 75 meters a second, 243 00:14:15,971 --> 00:14:20,407 which is over 250 kilometers an hour. 244 00:14:20,409 --> 00:14:22,009 Today we've got two different trains 245 00:14:22,011 --> 00:14:23,343 that we're going to be testing. 246 00:14:23,345 --> 00:14:24,911 This is a flat-nosed freight train, 247 00:14:24,913 --> 00:14:26,947 which represents sort of an unaerodynamic train 248 00:14:26,949 --> 00:14:28,448 as they were originally designed. 249 00:14:28,450 --> 00:14:30,984 And this one here is a high-speed train. 250 00:14:30,986 --> 00:14:32,219 Got this sloped nose. 251 00:14:32,221 --> 00:14:33,687 We're going to see what difference that makes 252 00:14:33,689 --> 00:14:35,022 to the speed the train can travel at. 253 00:14:35,024 --> 00:14:36,490 And this is what we're going to be using 254 00:14:36,492 --> 00:14:37,658 for the actual experiment. 255 00:14:37,660 --> 00:14:39,059 These things here are light gates. 256 00:14:39,061 --> 00:14:40,494 And when the train goes past this one, 257 00:14:40,496 --> 00:14:42,696 it interrupts the light beam, and we can detect that time. 258 00:14:42,698 --> 00:14:44,498 Then, a fraction of a second later, 259 00:14:44,500 --> 00:14:47,034 it'll go past this light gate, interrupts this beam, 260 00:14:47,036 --> 00:14:49,503 and by measuring the difference between two times, 261 00:14:49,505 --> 00:14:50,871 we know this distance here, 262 00:14:50,873 --> 00:14:53,640 so we can work out exactly how fast it's going. 263 00:14:58,446 --> 00:14:59,980 The model trains are fired 264 00:14:59,982 --> 00:15:02,149 using giant rubber catapults. 265 00:15:03,851 --> 00:15:07,020 So I was just applying some tension to the track now, 266 00:15:07,022 --> 00:15:10,824 and that's pulling the train back into the firing position. 267 00:15:10,826 --> 00:15:14,227 I'm almost as tense as the train is. 268 00:15:14,229 --> 00:15:16,730 Okay. 269 00:15:16,732 --> 00:15:19,199 So just... Here goes. 270 00:15:26,641 --> 00:15:28,275 Ooh! 271 00:15:30,812 --> 00:15:32,913 That was fast. 272 00:15:32,915 --> 00:15:34,514 Ooh! 273 00:15:34,516 --> 00:15:36,216 And believe it or not, 274 00:15:36,218 --> 00:15:38,585 that was a sort of slow test run. 275 00:15:41,222 --> 00:15:43,123 So now that we've done that test run, 276 00:15:43,125 --> 00:15:45,225 the key thing is to find out the readings that we got 277 00:15:45,227 --> 00:15:47,961 from these light meters. 278 00:15:47,963 --> 00:15:49,496 We've got two readings here. 279 00:15:49,498 --> 00:15:50,831 At the first set of light gates, 280 00:15:50,833 --> 00:15:52,566 it was doing about 36 meters per second. 281 00:15:52,568 --> 00:15:55,369 But then, by the time the second set of light gates, 282 00:15:55,371 --> 00:15:57,371 just a couple of meters later, it's only doing 34 1/2 meters 283 00:15:57,373 --> 00:15:59,039 a second, so you can see it's lost some speed, 284 00:15:59,041 --> 00:16:00,774 the aerodynamic drag has kicked in 285 00:16:00,776 --> 00:16:02,376 and slowed the train down. 286 00:16:02,378 --> 00:16:05,178 In the short distance between gates, 287 00:16:05,180 --> 00:16:09,216 the flat-nosed train loses around 5% of its speed. 288 00:16:13,087 --> 00:16:16,523 Next to be tested is the sloping-nosed model. 289 00:16:16,525 --> 00:16:19,693 Ready, aim, and fire. 290 00:16:24,132 --> 00:16:26,566 Phew! 291 00:16:26,568 --> 00:16:29,770 Wow. 292 00:16:29,772 --> 00:16:31,538 Oh. 293 00:16:31,540 --> 00:16:34,741 The sloping-nosed model's speed reduces by only 2% 294 00:16:34,743 --> 00:16:36,910 between the light gates. 295 00:16:36,912 --> 00:16:38,745 Phew! 296 00:16:38,747 --> 00:16:40,847 So these numbers, they're quite subtly different. 297 00:16:40,849 --> 00:16:42,816 But when you scale it up to a full-sized train 298 00:16:42,818 --> 00:16:45,218 and you're looking to propel it constantly down the track, 299 00:16:45,220 --> 00:16:47,721 this can translate into a big change of efficiency. 300 00:16:50,024 --> 00:16:51,525 A fact 301 00:16:51,527 --> 00:16:55,061 Nigel Gresley discovered while designing the Mallard 302 00:16:55,063 --> 00:16:56,396 and exploited brilliantly. 303 00:16:56,398 --> 00:16:58,131 Gresley's engineering really was 304 00:16:58,133 --> 00:16:59,466 a complete step change. 305 00:16:59,468 --> 00:17:01,501 Although we'd used aerodynamics in planes 306 00:17:01,503 --> 00:17:04,337 and hydrodynamics was known about in boats, 307 00:17:04,339 --> 00:17:05,539 this was the first time 308 00:17:05,541 --> 00:17:07,374 those principles had been applied to a train. 309 00:17:07,376 --> 00:17:09,042 And that is what enabled the Mallard 310 00:17:09,044 --> 00:17:10,410 to travel at 126 miles per hour. 311 00:17:10,412 --> 00:17:14,214 In 1938, the Mallard set the record 312 00:17:14,216 --> 00:17:17,484 for the fastest steam train on rails, 313 00:17:17,486 --> 00:17:19,953 a record which still stands today. 314 00:17:32,500 --> 00:17:34,267 The designers of the Shanghai Maglev 315 00:17:34,269 --> 00:17:36,436 have learned from the breakthroughs 316 00:17:36,438 --> 00:17:38,805 made by the Mallard and created a train 317 00:17:38,807 --> 00:17:42,576 that travels at speeds that innovator Nigel Gresley 318 00:17:42,578 --> 00:17:44,911 would have thought to be impossible. 319 00:17:44,913 --> 00:17:49,716 In one test run, it exceeded 300 miles per hour... 320 00:17:51,085 --> 00:17:55,322 Almost three times what the Mallard was capable of. 321 00:17:55,324 --> 00:17:58,892 You can see it has a very sleek, 322 00:17:58,894 --> 00:18:00,327 streamlined design 323 00:18:00,329 --> 00:18:04,130 with a very smooth, sloping nose. 324 00:18:04,132 --> 00:18:07,968 Also the train wraps itself around the guideway 325 00:18:07,970 --> 00:18:11,705 which reduces turbulence that might otherwise be generated 326 00:18:11,707 --> 00:18:14,140 between the train and the track. 327 00:18:22,483 --> 00:18:23,817 But to build 328 00:18:23,819 --> 00:18:26,319 the fastest passenger train on the planet, 329 00:18:26,321 --> 00:18:28,989 engineers would need more than just an aerodynamic design, 330 00:18:28,991 --> 00:18:31,491 so they drew inspiration 331 00:18:31,493 --> 00:18:33,293 from a decades-old engineering experiment... 332 00:18:33,295 --> 00:18:35,128 They combined the principle of the hovercraft 333 00:18:35,130 --> 00:18:37,030 and a jet engine, 334 00:18:37,032 --> 00:18:39,266 and they smashed the rail speed record. 335 00:18:39,268 --> 00:18:43,436 ...To create their own impossible engineering. 336 00:18:55,683 --> 00:18:58,318 The Shanghai Maglev 337 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:00,754 is the fastest passenger train on the planet. 338 00:19:03,524 --> 00:19:08,094 It travels at an astonishing top operating speed 339 00:19:08,096 --> 00:19:10,230 of 268 miles per hour. 340 00:19:19,106 --> 00:19:20,707 The train has transformed travel 341 00:19:20,709 --> 00:19:23,310 between downtown Shanghai and Pudong airport. 342 00:19:27,081 --> 00:19:29,316 The Maglev runs 343 00:19:29,318 --> 00:19:32,118 all the way from here to Pudong airport, 344 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:35,956 which is a 34-kilometer journey in that direction. 345 00:19:35,958 --> 00:19:38,258 Now if I was to get the Metro, 346 00:19:38,260 --> 00:19:40,293 it would take me over an hour. 347 00:19:40,295 --> 00:19:43,730 If I got a cab, it would take me 40 minutes or so. 348 00:19:43,732 --> 00:19:46,633 But if I got the Maglev, which I like to do, 349 00:19:46,635 --> 00:19:48,535 it takes me only seven minutes. 350 00:19:50,538 --> 00:19:53,173 But the development 351 00:19:53,175 --> 00:19:56,576 of the futuristic Maglev took decades of experimentation 352 00:19:56,578 --> 00:20:02,415 before it reached its incredible 21st century performance levels. 353 00:20:02,417 --> 00:20:04,217 Created in Germany, 354 00:20:04,219 --> 00:20:06,820 the first passenger-carrying prototype, 355 00:20:06,822 --> 00:20:09,689 the transrapid Maglev system, was unveiled 356 00:20:09,691 --> 00:20:10,924 in 1971. 357 00:20:10,926 --> 00:20:12,492 It traveled at speeds 358 00:20:12,494 --> 00:20:15,695 where little consideration to aerodynamics was necessary. 359 00:20:17,465 --> 00:20:18,999 But as experiments continued 360 00:20:19,001 --> 00:20:20,567 and speeds rapidly increased, 361 00:20:20,569 --> 00:20:23,770 the train car design that now graces 362 00:20:23,772 --> 00:20:25,839 Shanghai's elevated track took shape. 363 00:20:30,678 --> 00:20:32,912 However, increased speed 364 00:20:32,914 --> 00:20:36,616 means increased engineering challenges. 365 00:20:36,618 --> 00:20:39,252 The Maglev going to the airport 366 00:20:39,254 --> 00:20:41,154 and the Maglev coming from the airport 367 00:20:41,156 --> 00:20:44,357 pass each other at incredible speeds, 368 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:47,927 potentially a combined speed of over 369 00:20:47,929 --> 00:20:49,729 860 kilometers per hour. 370 00:20:49,731 --> 00:20:53,800 And this could cause a potential problem. 371 00:20:53,802 --> 00:20:56,369 However sleek the design, 372 00:20:56,371 --> 00:21:00,040 any object passing another at speed 373 00:21:00,042 --> 00:21:03,176 creates a change in pressure between them. 374 00:21:03,178 --> 00:21:07,681 Lower pressure, as the trains are together, 375 00:21:07,683 --> 00:21:11,317 followed by a return to a higher pressure once they've passed. 376 00:21:11,319 --> 00:21:14,754 This could potentially cause stresses to the cabin walls. 377 00:21:14,756 --> 00:21:16,322 So maglevs have been engineered 378 00:21:16,324 --> 00:21:20,160 with an aluminium composite shell, 379 00:21:20,162 --> 00:21:24,431 light, but at the same time, strong and stiff enough 380 00:21:24,433 --> 00:21:26,399 to support the pressure 381 00:21:26,401 --> 00:21:29,602 acting on the structure by high-speed traveling. 382 00:21:34,742 --> 00:21:36,876 But there were other design elements 383 00:21:36,878 --> 00:21:39,245 that the Maglev's engineers had to consider 384 00:21:39,247 --> 00:21:42,649 if they wanted their train to achieve record-breaking speeds. 385 00:21:42,651 --> 00:21:44,551 It's not just the wind 386 00:21:44,553 --> 00:21:46,920 that provides friction on the train. 387 00:21:46,922 --> 00:21:49,622 One of the biggest losses of energy 388 00:21:49,624 --> 00:21:52,559 that occurs in a traditional train 389 00:21:52,561 --> 00:21:54,461 is produced by the friction 390 00:21:54,463 --> 00:21:56,996 between the wheels and the track. 391 00:21:56,998 --> 00:22:00,567 The more friction there is, the more power is lost. 392 00:22:00,569 --> 00:22:03,503 In a car like this, for example, 393 00:22:03,505 --> 00:22:08,908 1/3 of the fuel is spent on overcoming friction. 394 00:22:11,979 --> 00:22:14,447 To limit the negative effects of friction, 395 00:22:14,449 --> 00:22:16,883 engineers designed the Maglev in a way 396 00:22:16,885 --> 00:22:20,653 that only some of history's most daring engineers have attempted. 397 00:22:32,967 --> 00:22:34,901 Physicist Andrew Steele is in 398 00:22:34,903 --> 00:22:38,171 the French countryside looking for the remains of a system 399 00:22:38,173 --> 00:22:40,507 that could have been just as revolutionary 400 00:22:40,509 --> 00:22:42,609 as the Maglev. 401 00:22:48,048 --> 00:22:51,518 So here it is, over 50 years old and covered in moss. 402 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,354 This is what its creators thought would be 403 00:22:54,356 --> 00:22:56,756 the future of high-speed mass transit... 404 00:22:56,758 --> 00:22:59,626 A single concrete rail, straddled by a train, 405 00:22:59,628 --> 00:23:00,960 capable of traveling 406 00:23:00,962 --> 00:23:03,963 at 422 kilometers an hour, at a time 407 00:23:03,965 --> 00:23:05,899 when the speed record for a conventional train 408 00:23:05,901 --> 00:23:07,100 was just half that. 409 00:23:07,102 --> 00:23:09,502 So what kind of vehicle 410 00:23:09,504 --> 00:23:13,406 was capable of overcoming the forces of friction 411 00:23:13,408 --> 00:23:16,176 to travel over 250 miles per hour? 412 00:23:16,178 --> 00:23:20,146 The answer lies in a closely guarded warehouse. 413 00:23:20,148 --> 00:23:23,283 I've come to a top-secret location 414 00:23:23,285 --> 00:23:24,651 somewhere outside Paris 415 00:23:24,653 --> 00:23:27,187 to get a rare look at what could have been 416 00:23:27,189 --> 00:23:29,289 the future of land transportation. 417 00:23:32,459 --> 00:23:34,694 Hello. Good morning. 418 00:23:34,696 --> 00:23:35,728 So, where's it kept? 419 00:23:44,171 --> 00:23:46,806 Hidden among 420 00:23:46,808 --> 00:23:48,775 an assortment of military vehicles 421 00:23:48,777 --> 00:23:53,346 are the last surviving examples of an extraordinary experiment. 422 00:24:03,791 --> 00:24:05,425 Wow. 423 00:24:05,427 --> 00:24:07,260 So this is the A�rotrain. Yes. 424 00:24:07,262 --> 00:24:09,462 It looks like something out of the future. 425 00:24:15,202 --> 00:24:18,805 Designed by engineer Jean Bertin in the 1960s, 426 00:24:18,807 --> 00:24:23,743 the A�rotrain 01 and 02 are the only surviving prototypes 427 00:24:23,745 --> 00:24:27,046 of a system that hoped to change train travel forever. 428 00:24:30,784 --> 00:24:34,520 You can see the A�rotrain doesn't have any wheels. 429 00:24:34,522 --> 00:24:36,623 Now that might seem strange, 430 00:24:36,625 --> 00:24:38,491 but although the wheels have been the basis 431 00:24:38,493 --> 00:24:40,326 for land transport for thousands of years, 432 00:24:40,328 --> 00:24:42,095 they come with a big disadvantage, 433 00:24:42,097 --> 00:24:44,197 because the wheels rub against the ground. 434 00:24:44,199 --> 00:24:45,565 They create friction, 435 00:24:45,567 --> 00:24:47,500 and the A�rotrain tries to get around that. 436 00:24:51,138 --> 00:24:54,173 Engineers and scientists have been toying with the idea 437 00:24:54,175 --> 00:24:55,842 of frictionless travel for some time. 438 00:24:55,844 --> 00:24:57,510 The idea is that, if you can remove 439 00:24:57,512 --> 00:24:59,212 that frictional resistance to motion, 440 00:24:59,214 --> 00:25:01,381 then you can make things travel faster and more efficiently. 441 00:25:01,383 --> 00:25:03,683 The simplest way to do that might be 442 00:25:03,685 --> 00:25:05,451 to levitate it on a cushion of air, 443 00:25:05,453 --> 00:25:08,054 and that's the principle behind how a hovercraft works. 444 00:25:08,056 --> 00:25:10,223 We've got our own very simple model of a hovercraft here. 445 00:25:10,225 --> 00:25:12,225 It's just a cd with the top of a drinks bottle on it 446 00:25:12,227 --> 00:25:13,793 and then a balloon. 447 00:25:13,795 --> 00:25:15,695 Before we inject that cushion of air, 448 00:25:15,697 --> 00:25:18,364 the cd only moves a very small distance across the table 449 00:25:18,366 --> 00:25:19,699 when I tap it. 450 00:25:19,701 --> 00:25:21,034 However, what we can do 451 00:25:21,036 --> 00:25:22,969 is attach a balloon to this drinks bottle top 452 00:25:22,971 --> 00:25:25,138 and see if that makes any difference 453 00:25:25,140 --> 00:25:26,973 to the way that the cd moves. 454 00:25:26,975 --> 00:25:29,575 So here we go. 455 00:25:29,577 --> 00:25:31,611 You can see that now, with a tiny tap, 456 00:25:31,613 --> 00:25:33,279 the cd moves a long way. 457 00:25:33,281 --> 00:25:35,682 And just as long as the balloon has got some pressure 458 00:25:35,684 --> 00:25:37,617 to force that air down underneath the cd, 459 00:25:37,619 --> 00:25:39,519 then it'll keep on moving around freely. 460 00:25:39,521 --> 00:25:41,120 But when the balloon runs out, of course, 461 00:25:41,122 --> 00:25:43,156 the cushion of air vanishes and the cd is just as hard 462 00:25:43,158 --> 00:25:45,625 to move across the table as it was before. 463 00:25:47,761 --> 00:25:50,763 In here, we've got the guts of the A�rotrain. 464 00:25:50,765 --> 00:25:52,598 And incredibly, there were just two regular 465 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,634 car engines which power massive fans. 466 00:25:54,636 --> 00:25:56,302 And that blasts air downwards 467 00:25:56,304 --> 00:25:59,105 to lift the train up off the ground and then inwards 468 00:25:59,107 --> 00:26:00,773 to keep it centered on the track. 469 00:26:00,775 --> 00:26:02,709 That means the train isn't in contact with the ground 470 00:26:02,711 --> 00:26:04,744 or the track, and so that source of friction is removed, 471 00:26:04,746 --> 00:26:06,346 and that means that more of the energy 472 00:26:06,348 --> 00:26:07,680 from this engine up here, 473 00:26:07,682 --> 00:26:10,116 the propeller, can be used to power the train 474 00:26:10,118 --> 00:26:12,085 to move forwards. 475 00:26:12,087 --> 00:26:15,722 It's 11 meters long, weighs 2.6 tons, 476 00:26:15,724 --> 00:26:18,291 and yet the air gushing out of these nozzles 477 00:26:18,293 --> 00:26:20,626 is enough to keep it floating two or three millimeters 478 00:26:20,628 --> 00:26:22,895 above the track. 479 00:26:27,067 --> 00:26:28,868 By 1967, 480 00:26:28,870 --> 00:26:31,237 the A�rotrain was proving its potential 481 00:26:31,239 --> 00:26:33,072 on the test track as the next generation 482 00:26:33,074 --> 00:26:34,340 of passenger transport. 483 00:26:34,342 --> 00:26:37,076 A plan to build a track 484 00:26:37,078 --> 00:26:39,479 for the A�rotrain between Paris and Orl�ans... 485 00:26:39,481 --> 00:26:40,880 65 miles in 35 minutes. 486 00:26:44,319 --> 00:26:47,086 For A�rotrain mark 02, 487 00:26:47,088 --> 00:26:49,922 Jean Bertin went all out for speed. 488 00:26:52,526 --> 00:26:54,027 The A�rotrain 02 489 00:26:54,029 --> 00:26:57,463 was a futuristic combo of fighter jet, race car, 490 00:26:57,465 --> 00:27:00,233 train, and hovercraft. 491 00:27:01,635 --> 00:27:04,103 It looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, 492 00:27:04,105 --> 00:27:06,806 but the technology itself is actually pretty simple. 493 00:27:06,808 --> 00:27:08,875 I think my favorite control 494 00:27:08,877 --> 00:27:10,877 is this one that goes march� and arret. 495 00:27:10,879 --> 00:27:13,579 So it's basically stop and go just by flicking a switch. 496 00:27:13,581 --> 00:27:16,716 Nevertheless, it was the combination 497 00:27:16,718 --> 00:27:18,117 of engineering ideas 498 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:21,421 that made Jean Bertin's A�rotrain groundbreaking. 499 00:27:21,423 --> 00:27:24,624 Bertin's ideas really were revolutionary. 500 00:27:24,626 --> 00:27:27,493 They combined the principle of the hovercraft and a jet engine. 501 00:27:27,495 --> 00:27:29,862 This was the first time it had ever been done. 502 00:27:29,864 --> 00:27:32,198 Combined, they smashed the rail speed record. 503 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,333 An aircraft jet engine gives initial thrust 504 00:27:34,335 --> 00:27:37,804 up to speeds of around 185 miles per hour. 505 00:27:37,806 --> 00:27:42,008 An additional rocket motor boosts the mph to 235. 506 00:27:50,084 --> 00:27:51,851 Sadly, 507 00:27:51,853 --> 00:27:53,986 Jean Bertin's dream of friction-free travel 508 00:27:53,988 --> 00:27:56,422 died in the 1970s 509 00:27:56,424 --> 00:27:58,958 when the French government abandoned the experiment. 510 00:28:03,363 --> 00:28:05,598 But almost a half century later, 511 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:09,402 the A�rotrain has a familiar-looking cousin 512 00:28:09,404 --> 00:28:12,371 over 3,000 miles away in China. 513 00:28:22,816 --> 00:28:24,317 The Shanghai Maglev... 514 00:28:24,319 --> 00:28:27,386 The world's fastest passenger train, 515 00:28:27,388 --> 00:28:29,689 a unique engineering feat 516 00:28:29,691 --> 00:28:33,459 situated in one of China's most ambitious cities. 517 00:28:36,330 --> 00:28:38,064 This Maglev here is the only 518 00:28:38,066 --> 00:28:41,067 high-speed Maglev in the world, and that kind of 519 00:28:41,069 --> 00:28:43,169 chimes in with the ambition of Shanghai. 520 00:28:43,171 --> 00:28:47,240 People come here to design daring buildings 521 00:28:47,242 --> 00:28:48,908 and daring systems. 522 00:28:48,910 --> 00:28:51,444 And one of the most daring of them all 523 00:28:51,446 --> 00:28:52,678 is the Maglev... 524 00:28:54,248 --> 00:28:58,117 Traveling at a staggering 268 miles per hour, 525 00:28:58,119 --> 00:29:01,921 appearing to defy physics. 526 00:29:21,475 --> 00:29:24,644 The first time I traveled in the Maglev, 527 00:29:24,646 --> 00:29:27,446 we hit 400, and I thought, "oh, my goodness." 528 00:29:27,448 --> 00:29:30,583 And then it continued to travel even faster. 529 00:29:30,585 --> 00:29:33,786 I could not believe what I was seeing and experiencing. 530 00:29:33,788 --> 00:29:37,190 And it is currently doing a top speed, 531 00:29:37,192 --> 00:29:41,894 flying pretty much at 431 kilometers an hour. 532 00:29:41,896 --> 00:29:44,997 And it still feels very comfortable 533 00:29:44,999 --> 00:29:46,866 for the speed at which it's traveling. 534 00:29:46,868 --> 00:29:49,702 The Maglev is faster than the formula one car. 535 00:29:49,704 --> 00:29:51,437 It is flying along. 536 00:29:52,773 --> 00:29:56,042 The Maglev's record- breaking speed is possible 537 00:29:56,044 --> 00:29:57,677 because it's levitated above the track 538 00:29:57,679 --> 00:29:59,078 by powerful electromagnets 539 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,882 instead of a hovercraft design like the French A�rotrain. 540 00:30:08,555 --> 00:30:10,723 But levitating a train with magnets 541 00:30:10,725 --> 00:30:14,527 would be impossible without one of science's great innovators. 542 00:30:25,372 --> 00:30:27,506 Born in 1791, 543 00:30:27,508 --> 00:30:29,842 Michael Faraday was the son of a blacksmith 544 00:30:29,844 --> 00:30:32,078 and received little formal education, 545 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,180 but he would go on to revolutionize 546 00:30:34,182 --> 00:30:35,681 the engineering world. 547 00:30:37,684 --> 00:30:39,518 His original laboratory 548 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:43,456 still exists at London's royal institution... 549 00:30:43,458 --> 00:30:45,224 I'm going to give it a little push. 550 00:30:45,226 --> 00:30:46,559 Where physicist Andrew Steele 551 00:30:46,561 --> 00:30:49,629 is exploring how Faraday's discoveries 552 00:30:49,631 --> 00:30:52,431 made magnetic levitation possible. 553 00:30:52,433 --> 00:30:54,267 Faraday's discoveries revolutionized 554 00:30:54,269 --> 00:30:56,035 our understanding of the interplay 555 00:30:56,037 --> 00:30:57,803 between electricity and magnetism. 556 00:30:57,805 --> 00:31:00,139 And one of the things that this understanding allows us to make 557 00:31:00,141 --> 00:31:01,474 is an electromagnet. 558 00:31:01,476 --> 00:31:04,043 So an electromagnet is made of a coil of wire. 559 00:31:04,045 --> 00:31:06,045 You then need to get the ends of those pieces of wire 560 00:31:06,047 --> 00:31:07,713 and plug them into a power supply. 561 00:31:07,715 --> 00:31:10,049 And, finally, to magnify the magnetic effect, 562 00:31:10,051 --> 00:31:12,385 you often place a core of a material like iron 563 00:31:12,387 --> 00:31:13,719 in the middle of the magnet. 564 00:31:13,721 --> 00:31:16,689 Let's connect this up. 565 00:31:16,691 --> 00:31:20,393 And to prove to you that that's magnetic, 566 00:31:20,395 --> 00:31:21,627 you can see... 567 00:31:21,629 --> 00:31:23,829 That even with this extremely simple setup, 568 00:31:23,831 --> 00:31:26,232 we can actually get a piece of metal to stick to it. 569 00:31:26,234 --> 00:31:28,134 Another crucial factor about electromagnets, 570 00:31:28,136 --> 00:31:30,303 if you want to use them for levitation, 571 00:31:30,305 --> 00:31:32,371 is that we can change their strength, 572 00:31:32,373 --> 00:31:33,973 and we can do that very easily. 573 00:31:33,975 --> 00:31:35,641 Just by changing the electric current 574 00:31:35,643 --> 00:31:37,076 passing through this magnet, 575 00:31:37,078 --> 00:31:38,444 I can turn the current down 576 00:31:38,446 --> 00:31:40,112 and make the attraction much weaker. 577 00:31:40,114 --> 00:31:42,448 Or I can turn the current up and make that attraction 578 00:31:42,450 --> 00:31:44,517 get stronger again. 579 00:31:44,519 --> 00:31:47,053 Not only can electromagnets be adjusted 580 00:31:47,055 --> 00:31:48,721 and turned on or off at will, 581 00:31:48,723 --> 00:31:54,560 but they're also significantly stronger than ordinary magnets. 582 00:31:54,562 --> 00:31:56,228 If you want to suspend an entire train, 583 00:31:56,230 --> 00:31:58,230 you're going to need a pretty powerful electromagnet. 584 00:31:58,232 --> 00:32:00,066 And actually, electromagnets are pretty strong. 585 00:32:00,068 --> 00:32:03,703 This little one is enough to suspend my entire body weight. 586 00:32:03,705 --> 00:32:05,905 And actually, 587 00:32:05,907 --> 00:32:08,607 this thing needs surprisingly little electric current. 588 00:32:08,609 --> 00:32:11,210 There's less electricity flowing through this device 589 00:32:11,212 --> 00:32:14,213 than there is through your hair dryer or your kettle at home. 590 00:32:14,215 --> 00:32:15,681 We've got an electrical current 591 00:32:15,683 --> 00:32:17,483 flowing through this electromagnet. 592 00:32:17,485 --> 00:32:20,453 If we connect it to the piece of metal on my back, 593 00:32:20,455 --> 00:32:24,023 then, hopefully, there should be enough strength 594 00:32:24,025 --> 00:32:26,092 to hold me above the floor. 595 00:32:29,296 --> 00:32:30,796 And there you have it. 596 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:48,881 On the Shanghai Maglev, 597 00:32:48,883 --> 00:32:50,216 powerful electromagnets 598 00:32:50,218 --> 00:32:53,853 are installed into the underside of the train cars, 599 00:32:53,855 --> 00:32:56,555 allowing them to float. 600 00:32:56,557 --> 00:32:59,759 Guidance magnets keep the train centered, 601 00:32:59,761 --> 00:33:01,927 and support magnets pull the unit 602 00:33:01,929 --> 00:33:06,599 to the underside of the track, lifting the train above. 603 00:33:06,601 --> 00:33:08,701 The entire train floats, 604 00:33:08,703 --> 00:33:11,837 suspended 10 millimeters below the track. 605 00:33:15,776 --> 00:33:17,610 Not only does this reduce wear and tear, 606 00:33:17,612 --> 00:33:19,812 but it also makes for 607 00:33:19,814 --> 00:33:23,015 extremely fast, friction-free travel. 608 00:33:23,017 --> 00:33:25,885 Because there's no contact 609 00:33:25,887 --> 00:33:28,687 between the train and the guideway, 610 00:33:28,689 --> 00:33:31,757 there is no friction, and this means that the train 611 00:33:31,759 --> 00:33:34,126 can have a lifetime of up to 50 years 612 00:33:34,128 --> 00:33:36,162 with minimum maintenance required. 613 00:33:40,434 --> 00:33:41,767 But while designing 614 00:33:41,769 --> 00:33:43,502 China's futuristic passenger train, 615 00:33:43,504 --> 00:33:46,472 developers couldn't just focus on speed. 616 00:33:46,474 --> 00:33:48,641 They had to ensure the Maglev 617 00:33:48,643 --> 00:33:50,910 was environmentally friendly, too. 618 00:33:50,912 --> 00:33:54,814 China, like all modern economies, 619 00:33:54,816 --> 00:33:57,683 is worried about its carbon emission quota. 620 00:33:57,685 --> 00:33:59,618 As development continues, 621 00:33:59,620 --> 00:34:03,756 the demand for oil will also likely increase, 622 00:34:03,758 --> 00:34:07,660 but China has a limited domestic oil supply. 623 00:34:07,662 --> 00:34:12,498 With its current gas-guzzling congestion problems, 624 00:34:12,500 --> 00:34:15,634 greener transport initiatives are drastically needed. 625 00:34:15,636 --> 00:34:18,471 Otherwise, the city will choke. 626 00:34:18,473 --> 00:34:21,106 Their environmentally friendly solution 627 00:34:21,108 --> 00:34:24,844 came from one of history's great engineering innovators. 628 00:34:31,418 --> 00:34:32,985 In the late 1940s, 629 00:34:32,987 --> 00:34:35,754 a British engineer's groundbreaking experiment 630 00:34:35,756 --> 00:34:37,389 would earn him the nickname 631 00:34:37,391 --> 00:34:41,260 "the father of the Maglev." 632 00:34:41,262 --> 00:34:44,363 This is a sheet of aluminium. 633 00:34:44,365 --> 00:34:48,200 When I put it on the motor and switch on the magnets, 634 00:34:48,202 --> 00:34:51,303 something pretty dramatic occurs. 635 00:34:51,305 --> 00:34:54,573 Electrical genius Eric laithwaite 636 00:34:54,575 --> 00:34:58,377 developed the first practical linear electric motor, 637 00:34:58,379 --> 00:35:02,915 creating an effect he later dubbed the magnetic river. 638 00:35:02,917 --> 00:35:05,284 First of all, it will levitate, 639 00:35:05,286 --> 00:35:08,087 or support, an aluminium plate. 640 00:35:08,089 --> 00:35:10,589 It will guide it sideways, 641 00:35:10,591 --> 00:35:13,092 and it will also propel it along. 642 00:35:13,094 --> 00:35:15,694 The linear motor 643 00:35:15,696 --> 00:35:20,299 takes a traditional coiled electric motor and unrolls it. 644 00:35:20,301 --> 00:35:24,270 Instead of spinning a rotor, what was the coil, or stator, 645 00:35:24,272 --> 00:35:28,040 provides a bed that drives the object along its length. 646 00:35:32,045 --> 00:35:35,447 And there you have your modern 647 00:35:35,449 --> 00:35:40,052 vehicle being guided, lifted, and propelled, 648 00:35:40,054 --> 00:35:42,488 all by means of the same set of coils. 649 00:35:42,490 --> 00:35:45,257 Laithwaite's experiments 650 00:35:45,259 --> 00:35:49,094 provided the key that unlocked the potential of the Maglev. 651 00:35:59,539 --> 00:36:02,107 The builders of the transrapid Maglev system 652 00:36:02,109 --> 00:36:05,544 constructed a series of stator blocks. 653 00:36:05,546 --> 00:36:07,713 They are the main component of the linear motor 654 00:36:07,715 --> 00:36:09,882 and act as the propulsion system for the train. 655 00:36:13,019 --> 00:36:15,220 Once installed, they were tested in Germany, 656 00:36:15,222 --> 00:36:17,723 and in combination with the support 657 00:36:17,725 --> 00:36:22,528 and guidance magnets, enabled the Shanghai Maglev to levitate. 658 00:36:29,970 --> 00:36:34,974 The train can travel over 300 miles an hour 659 00:36:34,976 --> 00:36:37,443 without an on board engine. 660 00:36:39,646 --> 00:36:43,849 A linear motor is embedded into the guideways. 661 00:36:43,851 --> 00:36:47,152 But don't be fooled 662 00:36:47,154 --> 00:36:51,824 into thinking this whole track is electrified all the time. 663 00:36:51,826 --> 00:36:54,727 What is so brilliant about this system 664 00:36:54,729 --> 00:36:57,830 is that only the sections of the track 665 00:36:57,832 --> 00:36:59,865 on which the vehicle moves 666 00:36:59,867 --> 00:37:02,201 is powered at any time. 667 00:37:05,839 --> 00:37:11,343 So as it sets off, the track ahead of it is dormant, 668 00:37:11,345 --> 00:37:14,780 and only the section in front of the Maglev turns on. 669 00:37:14,782 --> 00:37:19,318 As soon as the Maglev has passed over the short section of track, 670 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:21,954 it turns off again, 671 00:37:21,956 --> 00:37:25,624 as the job of pushing the Maglev along is taken up 672 00:37:25,626 --> 00:37:28,661 by the next section of track. 673 00:37:28,663 --> 00:37:32,564 And so on and so on, all the way to its destination. 674 00:37:38,872 --> 00:37:41,473 But with less than six inches 675 00:37:41,475 --> 00:37:43,575 between the Maglev and its guideway, 676 00:37:43,577 --> 00:37:46,445 even the slightest malfunction could be catastrophic. 677 00:37:46,447 --> 00:37:48,814 It is critical to maintain 678 00:37:48,816 --> 00:37:52,751 an even gap between the train and the track, 679 00:37:52,753 --> 00:37:55,654 no matter how many passengers are on board. 680 00:37:55,656 --> 00:37:57,489 To do this, the Maglev's builders 681 00:37:57,491 --> 00:38:01,527 had to create one last piece of impossible engineering. 682 00:38:13,506 --> 00:38:15,908 Traveling at an astonishing 683 00:38:15,910 --> 00:38:17,743 268 miles per hour 684 00:38:17,745 --> 00:38:21,680 while floating on a magnetic field, 685 00:38:21,682 --> 00:38:24,750 the Shanghai Maglev is the only high-speed train of its kind 686 00:38:24,752 --> 00:38:27,252 operating commercially in the world. 687 00:38:31,458 --> 00:38:34,326 But having a levitating train fly through Shanghai 688 00:38:34,328 --> 00:38:37,763 at such high speeds comes with several engineering challenges. 689 00:38:37,765 --> 00:38:43,001 There is a carriage hurtling along 690 00:38:43,003 --> 00:38:45,971 at over 430 kilometers per hour. 691 00:38:45,973 --> 00:38:49,141 So it is critical to control 692 00:38:49,143 --> 00:38:51,744 fluctuations in the magnetic field 693 00:38:51,746 --> 00:38:53,779 and maintain an even gap 694 00:38:53,781 --> 00:38:56,381 between the train and the track, 695 00:38:56,383 --> 00:38:59,852 no matter how many passengers are on board 696 00:38:59,854 --> 00:39:02,688 or what variations there are in the load it's carrying. 697 00:39:02,690 --> 00:39:05,524 With just six inches between 698 00:39:05,526 --> 00:39:09,661 the Maglev and its guideway, any errors could see the train 699 00:39:09,663 --> 00:39:11,430 crunch into the track. 700 00:39:16,970 --> 00:39:19,071 The engineering team's solution, 701 00:39:19,073 --> 00:39:20,906 as physicist Andrew Steele demonstrates, 702 00:39:20,908 --> 00:39:22,674 relies on sensors constantly regulating 703 00:39:22,676 --> 00:39:25,911 the current flowing through the electromagnets. 704 00:39:25,913 --> 00:39:27,246 There we go. 705 00:39:27,248 --> 00:39:29,481 You can see this permanent magnet 706 00:39:29,483 --> 00:39:32,251 is suspended underneath this electromagnet. 707 00:39:32,253 --> 00:39:33,919 Whenever the permanent magnet moves 708 00:39:33,921 --> 00:39:35,420 slightly imperceptibly closer, 709 00:39:35,422 --> 00:39:37,756 this little sensor on the bottom here detects that, 710 00:39:37,758 --> 00:39:39,691 sends a message down to these electronics, 711 00:39:39,693 --> 00:39:42,027 and tells the electromagnet to become a little bit weaker. 712 00:39:42,029 --> 00:39:43,529 It turns down the current. 713 00:39:43,531 --> 00:39:45,798 That allows the ball to fall away a little bit. 714 00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:48,066 As it falls away, the sensor detects that again 715 00:39:48,068 --> 00:39:50,335 and increases the strength of the electromagnet 716 00:39:50,337 --> 00:39:52,104 and pulls the ball back towards it. 717 00:39:52,106 --> 00:39:53,772 So one complication of this system 718 00:39:53,774 --> 00:39:56,308 is that your feedback system always needs to be working, 719 00:39:56,310 --> 00:39:58,110 and it needs to be working very fast. 720 00:39:58,112 --> 00:39:59,211 You can see this ball 721 00:39:59,213 --> 00:40:00,712 is spinning and wobbling a tiny bit, 722 00:40:00,714 --> 00:40:02,381 and that's fine for a little demonstration like this. 723 00:40:02,383 --> 00:40:03,582 But if you got a train traveling 724 00:40:03,584 --> 00:40:05,083 at hundreds of kilometers an hour along the track, 725 00:40:05,085 --> 00:40:06,552 you're going to need a very, very sensitive 726 00:40:06,554 --> 00:40:09,354 and accurate feedback system. 727 00:40:17,664 --> 00:40:19,798 The Shanghai Maglev 728 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:24,603 takes this simple concept to a whole new level. 729 00:40:24,605 --> 00:40:30,542 There are 128 sensors in each section of the Maglev vehicle. 730 00:40:30,544 --> 00:40:33,412 They feed back the distance between magnets and track 731 00:40:33,414 --> 00:40:35,581 thousands of times a second. 732 00:40:37,784 --> 00:40:40,519 Powerful computers adjust the electromagnet's current 733 00:40:40,521 --> 00:40:44,756 constantly with microscopic accuracy. 734 00:40:44,758 --> 00:40:46,959 This is the guideway, 735 00:40:46,961 --> 00:40:52,030 and the train floats one centimeter from the guideway. 736 00:40:52,032 --> 00:40:53,966 Now, that is incredible precision. 737 00:40:53,968 --> 00:40:56,435 Now, there's a computer system that makes sure 738 00:40:56,437 --> 00:40:58,570 that, all of the time, the train floats 739 00:40:58,572 --> 00:41:02,040 at one centimeter from the guideway. 740 00:41:06,045 --> 00:41:07,946 An advanced computer system 741 00:41:07,948 --> 00:41:10,182 regulates the operation of the train service. 742 00:41:10,184 --> 00:41:13,518 Each journey's travel time is predictable to the second. 743 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,622 Now, this is the ambition of the Maglev, 744 00:41:16,624 --> 00:41:18,290 with computer systems 745 00:41:18,292 --> 00:41:23,161 able to achieve an extremely precise service. 746 00:41:35,675 --> 00:41:37,876 It's taken decades of planning, 747 00:41:37,878 --> 00:41:40,212 design, and testing to create 748 00:41:40,214 --> 00:41:44,516 the world's only commercially operating high-speed Maglev. 749 00:41:48,988 --> 00:41:51,857 It's a unique concept that throws away the rule book 750 00:41:51,859 --> 00:41:53,525 for traditional train travel 751 00:41:53,527 --> 00:41:58,463 and makes high-speed journeys possible in engineless vehicles. 752 00:41:58,465 --> 00:42:01,900 A system like the Maglev 753 00:42:01,902 --> 00:42:05,237 points to the future of transport in our world, 754 00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:07,806 incredible things to be achieved. 755 00:42:07,808 --> 00:42:10,509 This shows us that we can get people moving 756 00:42:10,511 --> 00:42:13,445 from "a" to "b" in short periods of time, 757 00:42:13,447 --> 00:42:16,782 which is great. 758 00:42:18,851 --> 00:42:21,486 By drawing on the innovations of the past, 759 00:42:21,488 --> 00:42:24,623 adapting, improving them, 760 00:42:24,625 --> 00:42:26,825 and making breakthroughs of their own, 761 00:42:26,827 --> 00:42:28,493 the designers and engineers 762 00:42:28,495 --> 00:42:30,395 of the Shanghai Maglev 763 00:42:30,397 --> 00:42:33,398 have realized the dream of a super-fast train 764 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:35,233 that flies without wings 765 00:42:35,235 --> 00:42:39,738 and have succeeded in making the impossible... 766 00:42:41,774 --> 00:42:44,710 Possible. 767 00:42:44,712 --> 00:42:47,713 It's kind of unbelievable 768 00:42:47,715 --> 00:42:52,050 that there's a train that goes over 400 kilometers an hour. 769 00:42:52,052 --> 00:42:55,220 It is a vision of the future, 770 00:42:55,222 --> 00:42:56,955 and it's here right now. 771 00:42:57,005 --> 00:43:01,555 Repair and Synchronization by Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0 59998

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