Definition of "magnetic levitation" []

• A high-speed rail technology by which a train can travel free of friction at speeds of 480 kilometers (300 miles) per hour or more. The train is suspended on a magnetic cushion about half an inch above an elevated magnetic track, whose moving magnetic field alternately attracts and repels magnets mounted on the train, which is pushed and pulled along by this process. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.