3 ms·
The article does not mention it, but 310 mph is still below previous maglev's speed records, done 10-15 years ago(!) on the same test line: 361.0 mph in Decemb
by mrb 13y ago
The article does not mention it, but 310 mph is still below previous maglev's speed records, done 10-15 years ago(!) on the same test line:
361.0 mph in December 2003
343.0 mph in April 1999
329.9 mph in December 1997
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCMaglev#Manned_records http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCMaglev#Manned_records
- jpatokal 13y agoIt's one thing to set test records with test equipment, and another to set them with production equipment -- this model is the actual train they're going to run on the line. Kind of like how the Bell X-1 was the first supersonic aircraft, but the Concorde was the first commercial supersonic aircraft. (And I have a sneaky suspicion that Japan's maglev, running in a depopulating country with economy in a terminal downward spiral, will end up as marginal and unprofitable as the Concorde, but that's another story.)
- Pitarou 13y agoThe comparison with the Concorde was the first thing that sprang to mind with me, too.