Airplanes and trains move through the earth\'s magnetic field at rather high spe
ID: 1976695 • Letter: A
Question
Airplanes and trains move through the earth's magnetic field at rather high speeds, so it is reasonable to wonder if our planet's magnetic field can have a substantial effect on them. We shall use a typical value of 0.500 for the earth's field.The French TGV train and Japanese "bullet train" reach speeds of up to 180 with wheels moving on tracks about 1.50 apart. If these trains could move at top speed at right angles to the earth's magnetic field, what potential difference would be induced across the tracks where the wheels roll?
Explanation / Answer
if the train is at right angle to the magnetic field induced emf can be calculated by bvl. where b = earth's magnetic field=0.500. v= velocity of train in m/s and l= distance between two wheels.(in m)