Discovery raises hopes for levitating trains

June 4, 2007 | Source: Toronto Star

University of Sherbrooke physicists have discovered a “quantum oscillation signature” that may be the key to figuring out what causes electrons in some special metals to switch to superconducting behavior.

With that insight, they expect to be able to tweak the structure at the microscopic level to trigger superconducting at room temperatures.

One of the most promising applications for such superconducting metals is in magnetic levitation trains, which can theoretically run at speeds of up to 500 km/h.