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Robotic Future · Vehicles and getting around

Hover car

Topic: magnetic levitation

A car that floats above the road. Real maglev trains already float on magnets at over 400 km/h.

Real today
Maglev trains
Fastest test
603 km/h, Japan, 2015
In service since
2004, Shanghai
Older idea
Hovercraft, 1950s

Find it on the map

Real world Floating on magnets

Maglev is short for magnetic levitation. Powerful magnets lift a train a few centimeters above its guideway and push it forward. With no wheels touching a rail, there is less friction and noise.

The Shanghai Maglev has carried passengers to the city's airport since 2004, reaching about 430 km/h. In 2015 a Japanese test maglev reached 603 km/h, a world record for a train.

The Shanghai Maglev train, which floats on magnets on its way to the city's airport. Photo: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Real world Floating on air

In the 1950s the British engineer Christopher Cockerell developed the hovercraft, which floats on a cushion of air pushed down by fans. Hovercraft can cross water, mud and ice.

A hovercraft at the hoverport in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, England, which has a passenger hovercraft service. Photo: mattbuck (category), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Possible future Hovering on the Moon and Mars

A hovercraft could not work on the Moon, because there is no air to push against. A hover car there would need a magnetic track, which would be costly to build. For now, wheels are the practical choice off Earth.

Art In this artwork

This illustration shows a sleek white and red car with glowing blue pads instead of wheels.

Back view

Look closer

  • Find the glowing pads underneath.
  • Compare it with the modern family car.

Think about it

  1. Why does a maglev train need a special track?
  2. Why couldn't a hovercraft work on the Moon?
  3. Would floating cars make streets safer or more dangerous?

Key words

Levitation
Floating in the air without support.
Friction
The force that slows things that rub together.
Guideway
The track a maglev train floats along.

Sources

The real-world facts on this page are based on these sources:

  • Central Japan Railway Company, SCMaglev (603 km/h test run, 2015), and Shanghai Maglev Transportation, line opened 2004
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Hovercraft" (Christopher Cockerell, 1950s)

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