What's The Big Attraction?
VS.
Transformers are needed for the most basic power distribution
Maglevs have the capacity to revolutionise transportation
Transfomers
Maglev Trains
Transformers Will Always Win - Maglevs Even Need Them To Operate!
Most plugs have some sort of box on them - this is a transformer (The Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2016). Lots of the devices that don't have transformers in their plugs (these will have small plugs) will have transformers built into them (Regesrer 2016).
What are Transformers Used For?
As transformers convert one voltage to another, they are needed in most devices that use a different voltage to the voltage of power outlets (in Australia this is 240V; Richmond 2014; The Australian Energy Regulator 2015). There are other ways to reduce the voltage, but this requires using lots of power (power is the amount of energy used per second, and is measured in Watts, W) - these alternative ways of reducing the voltage that goes to something continuously 'use' the extra voltage, which means that we're just wasting energy (Reese 2005). This is why almost all electrical devices that you plug into the wall use transformers - without them, the devices would overheat and some may even explode (Regester 2016)!
How Are Transformers Used in Power Transmission?
Other pages talk about electrical resistance - something that opposes the flow of electricity (Duffy 1999). When something opposes the flow of electricity, it converts some of the electrical energy into other forms of energy, usually heat energy (The British Broadcasting Corporation 2014). The more current that there is, the faster the electrons are moving, and the more energy that can be taken away from them (Duffy 1999). So, if we want to reduce the energy lost by electrical resistance in power lines, we need to find a way to decrease the electric current flowing through them (Duffy 1999). We can't change the amount of energy that they transfer (power), because we need that power for our homes and businesses (Richmond 2014). Electrical power is made up of two things, electrical current and electrical voltage (Richmond 2014). If we want to keep the same amount of power, but reduce the current, we need to increase the voltage (Richmond 2014).
Substations are just big transformers (Nizette et al. 2015).
This is why we send high voltages through power lines - so we don't lose lots of energy to resistance (Richmond 2014). We still have a problem though - our lights don't need to (and just can't) use 275, 000 volts (The South Australian Government 2017; Richmond 2014)! So, to convert this power to a more suitable voltage, we use transfomers (Richmond 2014). We use transformers to increase the voltage of electricity after it is produced, then to decrease it to a usable voltage near us, and in our homes (Nizette et al. 2015).
These are high voltage power lines - they don't connect directly to houses (O'Connor 2017).
Transformers and Wireless Electricty Transmission
As transformers transmit electricity between coils that aren't touching, they can be used to transmit electricity wirelessly, by putting the primary coil in one thing and the secondary coil in another (Sharma 2014). This is how cordless electric toothbrushes work - the charging base is the primary coil of a transformer, and the secondary coil is located in the toothbrush (Mihal 2016). This is important because we use water when we brush our teeth, and we don't want to electrocute ourselves (Mihal 2016)! Some new mobile phones do this as well (Mihal 2016)!
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This is also how Maglev trains get their power (Presson 2006). The 'primary coils' of transformers are placed in the track, and the secondary coils are placed in the trains (Presson 2006).
Image: (Wilson 2007).
Image: (Whitaker 2018).
A coal-fired power plant like the one that'd be near your house if transformers didn't exist (Lynas 2017).
These would be pretty hard to charge or invent without transformers (Apple Inc 2018).
What Impact Have Transformers had On Society?
We can't put a price on transformers. Without transformers, we wouldn't be able to increase the voltage of electricity that we produce to transmit it over long distances, or convert it back to a usable voltage (Dux College 2015). Consequently, we would need to make many more power stations, which would cost billions of dollars, because we couldn't transport power over long distances (Emery 2002). As transformers are used to convert between different voltages of electricity, we'd also need to create entirely different power plants for each different voltage we need to use, because workplaces, particularly industrial businesses, need higher voltages than we use in our houses (Emery 2002). The costs associated with using this excess power and building this excess infrastructure would have significantly hindered the expansion of electricity supply to reaching homes, substantially reducing our living conditions (Emery 2002). As a consequence of this lack of availability of electricity (due to expense), it is also highly probable that we would be much more reliant on manual labour, and may not have even progressed into the information age (our time now, where most people, in developed countries, are educated and pursue knowledge and intellectual skill; Dux College 2015). Obviously, this would have greatly hindered our development and implementation of new technologies, like mobile phones and computers (Dux College 2015).
If would could all get electricity, our electricity bills would also increase, because the only way of converting voltages for different appliances would be to waste the energy using resistors (this that 'consume' electrical energy in a circuit so other components get the right amount of electricity (Dux College 2015). This increase in electricity demand would have increased the supply of electricity, producing much greater amounts of fossil fuels (Emery 2002). However, we would have much bigger problems with renewable energy. Apart from not being able to transport energy very far (so we'd have to have all our energy sources near where we wanted to use the energy), most renewable energy sources (with the exception of hydroelectric dams, geothermal energy and biofuels) can't provide a consistent energy supply - if the wind increases in speed, or the sun shines brightly, a higher voltage will be produced by wind turbines and solar panels, respectively (Timmons 2014). This will destroy devices that can't use higher voltages, and so isn't very practical (Dissanayake 1997). Transformers have therefore had an exceptional social, economical and developmental impact on society.
Image of a wind farm that would be a strange science fiction technology without transformers (Liang 2017).
Construction of Maglev Trains is Expensive (Benson 2010).
What Impacts Have Maglev Trains Had On Society?
There are currently only six Maglev trains in the world that operate commercially: the Shanghai TransRapid (in China), the Changsha Maglev express (in China), the Beijing S1 Metro line (in China), the Linimo (in Japan), the Daejeon Maglev (in South Korea) and the Incheon International Airport Maglev (in South Korea; Schnieder 2018). However, the lines are short, ranging from 1km (the Daejeon Maglev) to 30.5km (the Shanghai TransRapid; Schnieder 2018; ), and all of the trains, except the Shanghai Transrapid, also operate at speeds of 110km/h or less, which substantially increases their costs of operation (Dona 2017). Consequently, Maglev trains have not substantially impacted society - the current systems that are in use have cost substantially more than other high-speed rail systems, due to their small-scale applications (Blow 2010; Vuchic et al. 2002). The Shanghai TransRapid cost approximately $2 billion (AUD), and is unable to operate near its full capacity due to unaffordable ticket prices (Yu et al. 2012; Berry et al. 2014).
What's Stopping Them From Sweeping Us Off Our Feet?
In urban areas, Maglev trains will cost more than improving existing public transport (including existing railway lines) or simply installing an ordinary railway line, because they can't reach the high speeds their designed for (and therefore can't be faster than other modes of transport) and creating Maglev infrastructure is more expensive than installing railway tracks and roads that are easier to source, if the costs per km are compared (Vuchic et al. 2002). While Maglev trains may attract passengers solely to admire the technology, existing trains, such as the Shanghai TransRapid, have substantially overestimated the effect that this has on revenue - and have discovered that such an effect is minimal (Vuchic et al. 2002). While Maglev trains have the capacity to be the fastest trains in the world (the Shanghai TransRapid holds the record for the fastest commercial train with passengers at 431km/h), high-speed trains on existing rail infrastructure can achieve similar speeds of approximately 320 km/h , on existing rail infrastructure (Xiangming 2010; Tran 2016). Hence, Maglev trains cannot be cost effective in locations where existing infrastructure exists (Vuchic et al. 2002).
A High Speed Electric Train (Zimmerman 2014).
Ordinary Trains With Rails Can't Go Over Hills or around tight corners, They Need Tunnels Built For Them (Benson 2015).
What Economic Advantages Could Maglev Trains Bring?
Despite the failures of Maglev trains that are currently operating, when implemented correctly, there are many economic advantages of installing a magnetic levitation train in specific areas (Abeye et al. 2011; Singh 2017). As Maglev trains are powered by electromagnets, they can go up much steeper inclines (hills) than ordinary trains (which will slip on hills), which means that in some locations were we'd normally have to build a tunnel, we can simply put a Maglev track over the top of the hill (Blow 2010; Winson 2015). Research conducted in the United Kingdom suggests that, in locations that would require tunneling for high-speed trains, implementing magnetic levitation infrastructure would cost approximately 50% less (Blow 2010). Maglev trains can also take much tighter curves than other trains, further reducing the track lengths required (Wilson 2015).
Maglev trains will also almost always use less energy (per km) than other trains, aircraft or even cars (when equivalent amounts of people are being transported) because they don't have any friction, and use electricity (Wilson 2015). Research suggests that Maglev trains only about 2.5 cent per passenger per kilometer (Ilonidis 2010). Contrastingly, aeroplanes cost about 12.5 cents per kilometer to operate at similar speeds, with more delays (Illonidis 2010). Also, as maglevs don't have many moving parts (even the Maglevs with wheels only use them for small parts of their journeys), they have much lower maintenance costs that 'ordinary' trains, planes, cars or buses (Illonidis 2010).
Plane Travel is Expensive (Cartoonaday.com 2009).
Royalla Solar Farm (The ACT Government 2018)
What Are The Social Impacts of Maglev Trains?
As Maglev trains use electromagnetic propulsion systems, they only use electricity to power them (Illonidis 2010). This means that Maglevs are able to use the 'clean energy' (electricity that is produced without greenhouse emission) that we're producing, and will be able to rely on clean energy when we have enough renewable energy sources for them (Wilson 2015). Throughout the world cities are also experiencing increased traffic congestion (traffic jams), which beginning to take up lots of our time that would be much better spent at home or work (The Australian Government 2015). In 2015, it's estimated that avoidable congestion (traffic jams that can be fixed by better transport means and routes) cost us $12,500,000,000 (AUD; The Australian Government 2015). However, Maglev trains can seat over 700 people (some can even seat over 1000 people!) and transport them quickly between cities and towns (Givoni 2005), which means they could substantially reduce traffic congestion (Givoni 2005).
Unemployment rates in inner city areas (which are generally higher than suburban areas could also be reduced, because Maglevs could transport large numbers of people quickly out of cities (Elhorst et al. 2008). Additionally, Maglev trains that are built to stop in regional areas (areas outside of big cities) could also stimulate (create) economic development in these areas, by providing a means of fast transport that would allow people in cities to work, shop and play in these areas (Elhorst et al. 2008)
MLX01 Japanese Maglev (Burkhard 2014).
The Verdict
As transformers are essential to electricity distribution, they've had, and will continue to have, a much greater impact on society than Maglev trains. However, Maglev trains have the potential to cost effectively revolutionise modern transport if they are gradually introduced for inter-city travel where a comparable transport system (like a high speed train) does not exist or unable to be feasibly maintained (it might be too old). This gradual introduction would change many major aspects of of lives - it could make travelling long-distance cheap, faster and more comfortable (because they float), while allowing you to get a job in a city you don't live in! It's also possible that the development of Inductrack maglevs could make the technology substantially cheaper and more accessable. This could help us develop regional area, and reduce traffic congestion and unemployment rates in big cities. Although Maglevs will never impact society as much as transformers, they still have the potential to make some really big, important changes.