When Elon Musk is not busy trying to take mankind to Mars, he's attempting to solve mass transport problems here, on Earth. One of the most exciting ideas he has put forward is Hyperloop, a modern version of a train, travelling inside tubes to provide an inexpensive, fast and clean alternative to the railways, cars and planes.
Image source: www.hyperlooptt.com
The origins of Hyperloop
Since the induction of Stephenson's Rocket in 1829, trains were the most common fast means of long-distance transport for over a century. It was only after the Second World War that planes became more convenient, especially on international routes, not to mention intercontinental. At the beginning of the 21st century, however, the world faced an exponential increase in land and air traffic which began posing threat of pollution and climate change. The latter was partly due to CO2 and other gasses emitted by planes.
To address that problem and at the same time provide a solution for ever-increasing road traffic, several scientists, engineers and visionaries proposed a new version of an old concept. The idea of transporting passengers and cargo inside low-pressure tubes dates back to Victorian times. We can still see its less complicated version sometimes in banks and offices where small pods containing money and documents move from various rooms to a central vault. Transporting people in that manner nowadays, however, is a much different story.
How will Hyperloop work?
To put the idea into practice, Elon Musk created a joint venture of his two already famous companies, SpaceX and Tesla, to create Hyperloop.
When complete, it will put people in sleek pods and transport them between cities at speeds in excess of 600 mph. A network of low-pressure tubes will make travelling faster, easier, as well as independent from traffic or weather. Passengers will travel comfortably sitting in pods, the size of a small city bus, which thanks to magnetic levitation will be levitating within a tube. To power the pods, Elon Musk proposes covering tubes with solar panels, which, in his opinion, should generate more than enough electricity for the system.
Low pressure inside the network, coupled with air caster skis levitating passenger capsules, solve two problems of high-speed railways. The lower the pressure, the lesser the air resistance and without the undercarriage touching any surface, friction would be eliminated as well. In 2013 Elon Musk claimed that the top speed of such a modern version of passenger train could be as high as 760 mph, with a maximum initial acceleration of 0.5g.
Image source: www.hyperlooptt.com
What can go wrong with Hyperloop?
The main criticism of Hyperloop at the moment focuses on both passenger experience and safety of travel. People sealed off in a relatively small pod without any windows might experience claustrophobia, not to mention the g-force on acceleration, exceeding that of an airliner on a take-off. It might mean that the beginning of each Hyperloop voyage will be an experience similar to a short rollercoaster ride.
At the same time, critics argue that the network of low-pressure tubes could be an easy target for acts of terror. The solution to that problem could be providing security measures similar to those that we experience at airports.
Despite some disadvantages, this project, if successful, might be a revolution. Hyperloop has the potential for a 'down to earth' means of transport that neither cars nor trains can offer. Its supporters point out that it could be cheap, fast, reliable, and what is also essential, producing less pollution than passenger planes that it intends to replace. At least partially, as intercontinental travels will still require passengers to fly.
While Elon Musk was the first one to put this idea forward, he's not the only only one trying to make it work. Hyperloop One, started in the USA in 2014, had impressive results in research and development. Richard Branson's Virgin Group joined in 2017 and subsequently renamed to Virgin Hyperloop One and then to Virgin Hyperloop. Currently more companies are working on various forms of Hyperloop transportation in various parts of the globe.
Image source: www.hyperlooptt.com
When will we travel via Hyperloop?
The first connection between two cities is supposed to be a Los Angeles - San Francisco tube with a length of approximately 350 miles. Travel time would be slightly more than 30 minutes and pods containing 28 passengers each would launch every 30 seconds.
Estimated price for a one-way ticket is just $20, which is peanuts compared to passenger plane fares on the same route. Unfortunately, we still don't know when this connection might come to life.
In 2019 Musk promised construction of a six-mile-long hyperloop tunnel for speed record competitions. Due to the Covid-19 situation in the United States, however, this and all other plans involving large-scale constructions are put to a halt and an economic crisis that is likely to follow the pandemics may limit funds available for further research and development.
Hyperloop is a bold project that might revolutionize the transport of people and goods between metropoles and countries by reducing costs, journey times and CO2 emissions. It definitely is too good to be abandoned, so those interested in seeing the network of low-pressure tubes anytime soon should keep their fingers crossed.