Hyperloop

Is hyperloop, a conceptual transport system in which pods are fired through vacuum tubes at more than 600mph, the future of travel?

22:37 18 May 2016

Hyperloop, a vision for rapid travel put forth by Elon Musk, can cut 5-hour commute from San Francisco to Los Angeles to just 30 minutes. It is a conceptual transport system being worked on by several teams including one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In theory, the system works by loading commuters into pods that are fired through vacuum tubes at more than 600mph or 1,000km/h.

 

The MIT team is one of the non-commercial teams designing a Hyperloop pod, which is funded by SpaceX in the form of competition.

 

Prototypes pods have been tested running along magnetic tracks. By pumping the air out of the tubes, the resistance is reduced while high speeds are achieved. Although the idea can significantly cut journey times over long distances, developing the technology poses many challenges and it could be extremely expensive. The cost of building the route from San Francisco to Los Angeles alone would require at least $6bn. The cost of the project is posing another challenge because although it can be a glorious piece of innovation, flying at supersonic speeds over land is simply not just profitable.