The technology that moves high-speed trains could make a great amusement-park ride: actual flight, with no strings attached.
This idea came to me as I was suspending a paper clip in mid-air between two magnets. What if a person was the paper clip?
The flyer would strap on a vest, overalls or or suit of lightweight, magnetic metal. Large electromagnets would stand on both sides of him, but not touching him or the suit. The magnets would be connected to rods connected to the ground or a stable structure by ball-and-socket joints.
The suit would have controls like those of a video game, allowing the flyer to move the rods and magnets in various directions. If he makes the magnets rise upwards, their force would drag the suit upwards as well, and the person inside the suit would go up with it.
Of course, the device would be designed so that the flyer couldn't strike any object or person. And there may be some health and safety concerns. For instance, a powerful electromagnetic field may endanger people with weak health or may disrupt artificial hearts.
Nevertheless, there it is: Personal flight without a plane or helicopter. It's a ride that I'd pay to take.
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I like that idea. But where would the flyer "fly" to? I don't understand that part.
The flyer would return to his launch point, I think. After all, that's what happens with other theme-park rides, from ferris wheels to virtual-reality experiences. The fun is in the journey, not the destination.
David Seidman
Could it be done? Perhaps, but you will have some considerable forces to deal with, since the magnets will have to be quite large. This will make your design quite expensive to build and maintain. But maybe there are other ways to do the same thing without having to physically move large objects. Perhaps a combination of tethers, and an air stream from below (to create a weightless environment) would give the flyer the degrees of freedom you envisage, while also simplifying your design. Put this contraption in a dark room, and throw in some virtual reality software and you could have the ride of your life.
What a concept! I am fairly sure no adrenaline junkie would want to miss this one!
I don't know about the "personal flight" part, but I could see a maglev system (with an actual vehicle in flight) as the basis of a transportation system that could, say, replace the monorail at Disney World. Such systems are already being built in Japan, for example. There's been talk about building a high speed train between LA and Las Vegas--Maglev would be cooler.
Although the concept is amusing, magnets of the power required could cause all sorts of havoc. Already people have been injured and one person at least has died in accidents around CAT scan magnets which can attract large ferromagnetic objects. Beyond that, various implanted medical devices would be sensitive to the fields and any nearby electronic devices wouls be affected.
The average mass of a paperclip is in the range of 1g-2g. The average mass of an american adult is around 80Kg (+/- 10KG) You are looking at about 80,000 times the mass to lift, not to mention the harness and safety tolerances, which could bring us to 100,000 times the mass of a paperclip.
Magnets able to suspend this mass in midair are EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.
Moderately powerful laboratory magnets can pull nails through 3/4" plywood from over a foot away. This ride's magnets would need to be far larger. Now car keys are a deadly consideration.
Get a metal detector for the door, and keep spectators back.