this post was submitted on 06 May 2026
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In the real world yes-ish. In the case of a a roller coaster or car the eddy currents bring the speed to near 0 & the rolling friction brings it to a complete stop. The issue is an eddy current braking system can’t keep something at rest. That’s why the roller coaster has a physical brake to keep the ride in place when people are getting on. There are other types of magnetic brakes/ contactless brakes, I just don’t know much about them. My company used the eddy current brakes to limit fall speeds to a safe level if a specific part fell during an emergency.
They're used for some trains now, though I think that a lot of them have since switched to rheostat or regenerative braking instead.