Editing Propulsion (section)

===Maglev===
[[File:Transrapid 09.jpg|thumb|[[Transrapid]] 09 at the [[Emsland test facility]] in [[Germany]]]]
{{main|Maglev}}
Maglev (derived from '''mag'''netic '''lev'''itation) is a system of transportation that uses [[magnetic levitation]] to suspend, guide and propel vehicles with magnets rather than using mechanical methods, such as [[wheel and axle|wheels, axles and bearings]]. With maglev a vehicle is levitated a short distance away from a guide way using magnets to create both lift and thrust. Maglev vehicles are claimed to move more smoothly and quietly and to require less maintenance than wheeled [[mass transit]] systems. It is claimed that non-reliance on friction also means that acceleration and deceleration can far surpass that of existing forms of transport. The power needed for levitation is not a particularly large percentage of the overall energy consumption; most of the power used is needed to overcome air resistance ([[drag (physics)|drag]]), as with any other high-speed form of transport.