Maglev trains are hella expensive. Sure, the $45 million is only supposed to pay for “environmental studies” in the first phase of the project, but the government can probably expect to spend a hundred times that amount before this thing is over.

Japan's Linimo maglev train, located near Nagoya, cost a cool $380 million to build and it's only 5.5 miles long. China's Shanghai Maglev Train, finished in 2004 in a country where labor's cheap and private land ownership is a pretty new concept, cost $1.3 billion for 19 miles of track—roughly $68.4 million per mile. What will $45 million buy in the States? 10 feet?

I love the concept of mass transit and one of my biggest gripes with the U.S. is how they let their train infrastructure shrivel and rot, but the paltry amount dedicated to such a pricey technology makes me wonder if this isn't just another attempt for Bush to greenwash his last few months in office. [Slashdot]

P.S. The picture is of the Shanghai Maglev Train, which has been criticized by locals for being showy, wasteful and impractical.

The maglev haptic control consists of two bowl shape objects, powered by electromagnets. Inside these bowls, a joystick floats around with a tracking sensor that relays its position back to a Linux Fedora-powered computer. The technology is precise to 2 microns and produces 40 newtons of force. One specific demo was the "physics playpen," where a variety of 3d shapes were displayed on screen and users could interact with them using the joysticks; moving the shapes back and forth between each hand, getting feedback of the collision, and a feel for the volume and weight of the objects.

Ultimately, the goal for this maglev haptic technology would be to have it implemented in a medical setting (microsurgery), military use (drone control), or even data visualzation (minority report, perhaps?). Just don't expect it anytime soon, as the electromagnets that power this thing cost tens of thousands of dollars alone. More pics are available over at [Gadget Lab].

[MoCo Loco via Crave]

At 9.99mm (0.39 inches), Pantech's new slim phone is the skinniest slide-phone currently on the market, beating Samsung by 3mm. And, in a cellphone first, it's all down to Magnetic Levitation, the same technology that is used by Japan's Bullet Trains some high speed trains. The phone also sports a 1.3-megapixel camera, MP3 player and DMP (terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting).

Using magnetic forces, Maglev enables one object to be suspended above another object and it is this that makes the phone slide. It's out next month in Korea and costs an obese $527, but expect to see it over here if it does well over there. – Ad Dugdale

Magnetic Levitation Handset to Debut [The Korea Times]

How are they really going to use this?

This all sounds like a great idea until you realize that the 220-pound payload proposed to be launched by this device will be exposed to 10,000Gs of force as it's accelerated to a speed of 6 miles per second. Heck, that's 21,600mph. Imagine the noise that thing will make. Notice in the pictures here that it's situated out in the middle of nowhere.

Satellite launcher? We're thinking it's probably going to be slinging lethal projectiles at those who hate America, rather than launching harmless and useful things like satellites. – Charlie White

Spin Me Up, Scotty [PopSci, via OhGizmo]

Tokyo to get world's first 'maglev' elevator [CNN]