ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Electromagnetic suspension

Electromagnetic suspension is like having a magic carpet underneath your feet that lifts you up without you even noticing. Imagine you are sitting on a chair and suddenly the chair starts floating in the air without any wheels or something that you can see from the outside. That's what electromagnetic suspension does.

So imagine you are in a train and the train tracks have bumps, curves, or even mountains. These bumps cause the train to shake, and you feel it. Have you ever seen somebody on a skateboard going over a bump? They shake a little. This is because the wheels of the skateboard are pushing to go over the bump while the person's body tries to stay still. This causes them to shake.

Electromagnetic suspension prevents the train from having that shaking motion. Instead the train will float smoothly over the bumps without producing any movement, and you won't feel any shaking or vibration. It's like having a bumpy road converted into a straight line without any ups and downs.

This works because the train has metallic strips underneath it, and there are magnets on the track. The magnets create a strong magnetic field that makes the metallic strips levitate or float in the air. The train is suspended in this magnetic field, which means that there is no physical connection between the train and the track. It's like a floating object with no strings attached.

So when the train approaches a bump, the magnets adjust the magnetic fields so that the train stays at the same level. This means that the train won't go up and down as it goes over the bump, but it will continue to float at the same level the entire time.

So basically, electromagnetic suspension is like a magic carpet that makes the train float smoothly over bumps and curves without any shaking or vibration.