What Is Hyperloop?
What is Hyperloop?
Hyperloop is a system designed and proposed for transporting passengers or goods. The term was first used to describe the design of an ‘open-source vactrain’ proposed by a joint venture between Tesla and SpaceX, two companies owned by Elon Musk.
The full form of ‘Vactrain’ is ‘Vacuum Tube Train’. A high-speed train that travels through vacuum tubes or tunnels with the help of magnetic force is called ‘Vactrain’.
The Hyperloop is essentially a vactrain. Hyperloop technology involves moving through a system of closed tubes with low air pressure. Passengers can travel from one place to another in the Hyperloop system using a pod of sorts. Due to the low air pressure, these pods of passengers or cargo can move through the tunnel without any obstacles or friction.
Hyperloop technology can transport people or goods at the same speed as an airplane or hypersonic speed. In terms of fuel, the technology will be more economical than the currently used high-speed rail communication system. If the technology can be implemented, it will be able to travel continuously for 1500 km or 930 miles effortlessly. Hyperloop will also take much less time to travel this distance than trains and airplanes.
Hyperloop is basically a rail communication system. It is planned based on the Very High-Speed ​​Transit (VHST) system proposed in 1972.
The system was planned to combine low pressure transit tubes with magnetic levitation or maglev trains. The proposed Hyperloop design expands on the original VHST plan, but uses tunnels and pods or capsules to travel from one location to another, similar to VHST.
How Fast Can You Travel Through Hyperloop?
Hyperloop is envisioned as an alternative to short-haul air travel. This system will be faster than the current rail communication system and hassle-free compared to air travel. However, it is not possible to travel at maximum speed in Hyperloop. Because in this technology the force of gravity is felt much more when turning. As a result, it becomes problematic to transport passengers or goods at maximum speed. Therefore, 700 miles per hour is considered ideal for Hyperloop travel.
In the case of short distance travel, the impact of acceleration and deceleration on passengers at the beginning or end of the journey should also be taken into consideration.
Currently, several projects are underway to build this technology. Let’s take a look at two of these projects:
How Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Works
The biggest problem with any moving vehicle is friction. This friction affects the surface of the pod or capsule as well as the environment through which the pod moves. Instead of conventional wheels, the Hyperloop will use air bearings to move the pods. This will cause the pods to float in the air. Hyperloop will work in much the same way as maglev trains using electromagnetic technology.
Normally there is no rail friction with maglev trains due to the electromagnetic levitation technology. This is how trains such as the 500 km/h maglev train in Japan can run at high speeds.
Apart from Elon Musk’s project, there is currently a project called ‘Virgin Hyperloop One’ underway. This hyperloop will use passive magnetic levitation technology similar to maglev trains. That is, the passenger capsule will have magnets attached to it, which will move on a track made mainly of aluminum. Currently, the implementation of maglev technology requires copper coil tracks, which are quite expensive. Elon Musk’s Hyperloop will take Hyperloop technology a step further with low-pressure tubes.
How Virgin Hyperloop One Will Work
Virgin Hyperloop One is a Los Angeles-based startup. The company is trying to build a Hyperloop train to reinvent the transportation system. The Virgin Hyperloop system will be built through underground tunnels.
It works in a fully automatic manner. As a result, there is less risk of complications related to driver error or weather disasters. This eco-friendly technology also has no chance of carbon emissions.
Many of the technologies used in this project, such as linear electric motors, maglevs and vacuum pumps, have been in the technology world for several years.
In this transportation system, passengers or cargo will first be carried in a hyperloop vehicle and its speed is gradually increased by electric propulsion in a low-pressure tube. Vehicles float above the track using magnetic levitation.
According to Virgin Hyperloop One, passengers will feel like they are in an elevator or a passenger plane while traveling on the Hyperloop.
