How Many Magnets to Stop a Maglev?

Overview

As trains advance more and more every day safety becomes the highest priority in maglev train engineers designs. The objective of this experiment is to stop a maglev train short of the safety line. The materials used for this experiment include fourteen one-inch-wide circular neodymium magnets, four wooden blocks measuring one and a half inches thick and five feet long, and black paint with a paintbrush. Four two-and-a-half-foot neodymium magnetic strips and two one-foot magnetic strips are also needed. Additional materials include glue, books to create a ramp, a small wooden block, a pencil, two screws, and two rubber bands.The procedure explains how to build and test a model maglev train with a magnetic stopping system. Three wooden blocks are assembled with gorilla glue to form the track, and screws are added for support. Neodymium magnet strips are glued along both sides of the track. The train is made from a separate wooden block that is cut at an angle, painted black, and magnets are added on the bottom and front. The track is positioned at a slant, and additional magnets are attached at the stopping area. The train is released down the track to observe where it stops. If the train passes a marked stopping line, more magnets are added until the fewest magnets needed to stop the train are found. At four magnets they stopped crashing into each other. At six magnets we had one successful attempt out of three. But overall seven magnets stopped it at our half inch safety requirement. The importance of this experiment is to find a way to safely stop a maglev train so that this can be replicated to life-size maglevs.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Electronics & Electromagnetics (Junior Division) · Entry J-10-22

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