Toshiba elevator and Building Systems Corp. have announced plans to complete the world's first maglev elevators in Tokyo as soon as 2008.

The elevators will literally hover in mid-air because lifts will be controlled via the generation of magnetic fields. Their top speed will be 300 meters per minute, which is one-third of the maximum rate of Toshiba's regular elevator line. However, maglev operation would create significantly less noise than a conventional elevator's moving parts.

Developing maglev elevator systems are auspiciously seen as a future means of delivering payloads or launching rockets into space. A space elevator using maglev technology could reduce the per-pound cost of bringing material to space from $10,000 to $10.

Maglev, which stands for magnetic levitation, is a proven technology that propels objects using opposite polarized magnetic fields. It's still being tested in Asia and Europe for wide-spread passenger train use; Shanghai has the world's only operational maglev line in service. Watch a video of this maglev train reaching 500 km/h.

Source: AP