Hyperloop is a high-speed train technology proposed in 2012 by Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and the man behind Tesla. Hyperloop is a proposed system of transport with pods traveling at high speeds through a tube that has been pumped into a near-vacuum. These pods would float using magnetic levitation technology.
With close to no fiction in the tunnel, Hyperloop train would be able to travel at very high speeds with a projected top speeds of 760 miles per hour. Hyperloop will allow you to reach San Francisco from LA or Edinburgh from London under 30 minutes.
From an idea stage, Hyperloop’s design was made open source so that any one company or group can start building their own high-speed Hyperloop train.There are few companies who are already working on creating commercial hyperloop trains in various countries or cities. Australia, India, and UAE are few of them.
Quick Facts About Hyperloop
What is Hyperloop?
A mode of transport that propels a pod through a low-pressure tube at theoretical speeds of up to 760mph. The low air resistance allows the pod to travel faster than conventional trains.
Who invented it?
Elon Musk popularised the idea in a white paper in 2013 although the idea of using air pressure to move transport has been around since the 18th century.
When will it be built?
One company, Hyperloop One, says it plans to build the first functioning Hyperloop systems by 2021. It completed and tested its first 500m prototype track in the Nevada desert.
Why is Hyperloop needed?
Conventional means of transportation are expensive, slow, and environmentally harmful. Traveling by road travel is quite problematic, given carbon emissions and the fluctuating price of oil.
Traveling by train is relatively energy efficient and environmentally friendly compared to Air and Road travel. At shorter distances (less than 1000 miles), supersonic travel is unfeasible. Hyperloop aims to make a cost-effective, high-speed transportation system for use at moderate distances. As an example of the right type of distance, Musk uses the route from San Francisco to L.A. The Hyperloop tubes would have solar panels installed on the roof, allowing for a clean and self-powering system.