Billed as the fastest way to cross the surface
of the earth, hyperloop represents the greatest
leap in transport infrastructure for generations.
With passengers sitting in pods that travel
at airline speed through pressurised tubes
using electric propulsion and magnetic levitation,
the concept promises to slash journey times
between major cities from several hours to
a matter of minutes.
Whilst it may feel like science fiction, hyperloop
is now on the cusp of becoming a reality.
This, is the story behind the concept that’s
about to revolutionise our world.
Hyperloop was first conceived in 2012 by Tesla
and SpaceX founder, Elon Musk.
In a white paper released the following year, Musk set
out his vision for a futuristic, super high-speed
transportation system that would see passenger
pods move through a partial vacuum in steel
tubes - addressing the two key factors that
slow down conventional vehicles: friction
and air resistance.
Exploring a potential route between Los Angeles
and San Francisco, Musk believed that his
concept could slash the eight hour bus ride,
four hour train journey and convoluted three
hour air travel experience between the two
cities to just 30 minutes.
Under Musk’s first hyperloop proposal, he
suggested that compression fans would move
air around the passenger pods to minimise
drag and create “air bearings” beneath
them, floating them off the surface of the
tubes.
It should be noted that Musk’s early hyperloop
concept is not a million miles away from Isambard
Kingdom Brunel’s atmospheric railway that
ran between Exeter and Plymouth in the UK
from 1847 to 1848.
That system, moved carriages with pressurised
air. The air was extracted from a pipe that
ran between the rails by pumping stations
situated roughly every three miles along the
route, creating a vacuum.
A piston contained
within this pipe was connected to the train,
which pulled it forward.
Despite its initial success, the leather flaps
that made the vacuum pipes airtight soon began
to fail causing air to leak from the system
and Brunel’s railway was abandoned.
With an estimated price tag close to USD $6BN,
Musk’s first hyperloop concept never came
to fruition - but the impressive idea and
potential to link cities in such a direct
way sparked intense interest.
From inception, Musk had always stated that
the concept of Hyperloop would be “open
source” - and he actively encouraged others
to come together and develop the necessary
technology, independently from his involvement.
This led to the formation of several startups
and student teams developing various aspects
of hyperloop technology with varying degrees
of success.
Now, several fully fledged companies are making
significant strides to bring hyperloop systems
into reality.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies or HTT
are making aggressive advancements and recently
constructed a full scale test track in France,
however the clear leaders of the pack in the
current standings, are Virgin Hyperloop One.
Virgin Hyperloop One are on track to achieve
their bold ambition of bringing a hyperloop
system into operation by 2021.
Originally formed in 2014 as Hyperloop One,
the company was rebranded following a significant
investment from Sir Richard Branson in 2017.
Deviating slightly from Musk’s original
plan, Virgin Hyperloop One’s technology
combines two basic principles.
The first is magnetic levitation (or MagLev),
a technology already used in monorails to
lift the passenger pods and move them along
their rails.
Magnetic levitation uses two sets of magnets;
one to repel the train from the track and
lift it upwards and the other to move the
floating train along the track at considerable
speed with reduced friction.
The second principle is the use of a low pressure,
vacuum sealed environment for the passenger
pods to travel through.
By removing most of the air from the tubes
and having no contact with the ground, the
pods face little to no resistance as they
move.
The air pressures inside the tube are equivalent
to flying 200,000 feet above sea level.
Such an environment enables the pods to reach speeds
of over 760 mph using very little energy.
By virtue of being in a tube, the system is
protected from the weather and can operate
in almost any climatic conditions.
Virgin Hyperloop One’s system is controlled
by advanced software that ensures acceleration
and deceleration occurs gradually, going relatively
unnoticed by those travelling inside.
Having built a 500 metre track in the Nevada
desert, Virgin Hyperloop One have carried
out several tests focusing on individual
aspects of the system and a complete full-scale
systems test in May 2017.
The propulsion, braking, levitation and vacuum
systems are all performing well and the team
have achieved a top speed of over 240mph to
date.
To inform their plans for developing a fully
operational network that is affordable for
all, Virgin Hyperloop One launched a global
challenge to find the routes best placed to
benefit from hyperloop technology.
With over 2,600 entries, the field was reduced
to just 35 potential locations - with each
entry enjoying with strong support from governments
and urban planners.
With 10 winners across five countries, Virgin
Hyperloop One are now working in partnership
with each of the locations on how to best
deliver the hyperloop technologies in live
networks.
In February 2018, the firm unveiled their
first prototype passenger pods for the Dubai-Abu
Dhabi Hyperloop route, a network that would
drastically slash the car travel time between
the two cities from two hours to just 12 minutes.
The advantages of Hyperloop are considerable.
Like train stations, Hyperloop stations, called
portals, are planned to be located within
inner city areas with easy links to existing
transport infrastructure.
This gives hyperloop systems a distinct advantage
over air travel, where airports tend to be
located beyond city limits with fewer accessibility
options.
Additionally, the system is being developed
to function on a “turn up and go” principle
without a lengthy check-in process and with
accelerated, advanced security checks.
Another clear benefit is its speed. If hyperloop
could significantly reduce the travel time
between cities, it could be possible to live
in a completely different city or part of
the country from where you work, with a commute
no dissimilar in length to the one you perhaps
take today.
This opens up a wide range of housing and
employment opportunities with people no longer
restricted to have living close to where they
work.
It could also take pressure off our
cities where infrastructure is often still
catching up with development, and where house
prices have become unattainable for most.
With speeds rivalling aircraft, and nine of
the top 10 busiest air routes in the world
being domestic, hyperloop has the potential
to completely revolutionise the way we live,
work and travel.
A hyperloop system requires very little energy
to propel pods through its tubes as the vacuum
environment poses little resistance.
As such,
the systems could be powered by renewable
technologies such as solar and wind, offering
a considerably cleaner alternative to air travel.
When you consider the prospect of people being
propelled in tubes across the earth’s surface
at near supersonic speeds, there are a number
of questions that instinctively jump to mind.
Perhaps the first is the impact of a potential
break or breach in one of the tubes - possibly
as the result of an earthquake or external
impact.
Virgin Hyperloop One explain that they have
addressed this by constructing thick steel
tubes that are extremely difficult to puncture
or break. Additionally the tubes are engineered
to withstand changes in pressure and air leaks
while maintaining their structural integrity.
Theoretically a sudden influx of air into one of the tubes
would simply slow the pods down due to the increased
air resistance. The pods could then be directed
to the next portal via an auxiliary power
boost.
There is also the ability to section off parts
of the route and to re-pressurise sections
where significant emergencies occur and all
pods are expected to be fitted with emergency exits.
Externally, hyperloop systems will largely
travel on elevated seismically designed pylons
that are able to move and flex independently
of one another minimising damage in the event
of a major ground shift.
Sensors along the
route would instantly report issues to the
systems control centre.
In answering the natural safety concerns raised,
Virgin Hyperloop One also point out that millions
of people already travel at high speeds in
metal tubes every time they take a flight,
and that numerous concerns surrounded the
use of jet aircraft when that mode of transportation
first came to prevalence.
While the idea of hyperloop may seem far-fetched,
when you consider the industrial progress
made in the past 200 years, the current rate
of technology adoption in our societies and
the significant advances being made by hyperloop
companies around the world, this incredible
new transportation system looks set to become
a part of our everyday lives in the very near future.
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