Middle School Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Contest To be Held at Brookhaven Lab, April 20

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Contact: Peter Genzer, (631) 344-3174 | Written by Diane Greenberg

Middle School Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) Contest To be Held at Brookhaven Lab, April 20

April 14, 2005

EVENT: Six categories of model Maglev vehicles built by Long Island middle school students will be tested for speed, efficiency, and appearance at the 15th Annual Middle School Magnetic Levitation Contest. Maglev - the suspension, guidance and propulsion of vehicles by magnetic forces - was invented and patented in 1968 by Brookhaven National Laboratory scientists Gordon Danby and James Powell.

Media are invited to the contest. The event is closed to the general public because of space limitations. All visitors age 16 and older must bring a photo ID to be allowed on site.

WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 20

WHERE: Brookhaven Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Lab is located on William Floyd Parkway (County Road 46), one-and-a-half miles north of Exit 68 of the Long Island Expressway.

DETAILS: Over 150 middle school students from Nassau and Suffolk Counties have entered the 2005 contest. (A list of participating schools can be found below.) The contest is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. Maglev may one day solve today's traffic congestion problems. Maglev vehicles float over a fixed track, supported and driven by magnetic fields. While barely leaving the ground, a Maglev vehicle may go as fast as an airplane. Students were required to design and construct model Maglev vehicles according to engineering specifications. Students recorded their design process in "design briefs," which also count in the judging process. Scores of handmade vehicles zooming down Maglev tracks, cheered on by dozens of students, will provide excellent visuals.