China will open its first maglev train line next week. This opening co-incides with the Chinese New Year. It's the Year of the Monkey.
There's an extensive blog on this topic.
Read on for do-it-yourself Maglev instructions!
This is very similar to something my dad and I built when I was 8 or 9. Somewhere we still have the notebook with the design and notes!
From The Guardian:
How to make a maglev at home
1 Take a roll of double-backed sticky tape, a piece of cardboard, 20 to 30 small magnets (square ones work best) and ideally one sheet of Perspex.
2 Cut two strips of the tape no more than 1m long. Take 20 magnets (setting aside five for later use) and stick them to the tape. Try to space them as equally as you can, all facing the same polarity. To check this, run a spare magnet over each row. It should either be attracted or repelled by all the magnets in the strip. Now tape the magnets to the cardboard base of the box in parallel lines close to the sides of edge of the base. This is the guideway.
3 To prevent the maglev from leaving the guideway, build two walls. Cardboard will do, but Perpex is best because the point of this experiment is to see magnetic levitation in action. You should now have a makeshift open-top box with the Perspex constituting the longest sides.
4 Now you need a train. Cut a rectangular piece of cardboard that fits inside the guide walls. Attach four magnets to the corners of the train. Be sure that all four magnets are placed so that they are repelled by the magnets on the track. Place the train gently above the track inside the guide walls and watch it float. Hey presto! Magnetic levitation.
5 A gentle push will move the train along the track, but if you want to be really posh, use another magnet. With the lack of friction and wind resistance the maglev should float to the other end.
