Hyperloop: The Futuristic Transportation System to Become an Everyday Reality

The California high speed rail currently costs $100b.

Elon Musk was NOT happy with its approval. To invest so much money into a new form of transportation, it should be safer, faster, lower-cost, more convenient, undisturbed by weather, sustainably self-powering, earthquake resistant, and undisruptive to people and environments. The California high speed rail is NOT that. Elon has been throwing shade since ‘13.

Disappointed with the ill informed decision, Musk proposed a solution, that met the criteria for an ideal, new method of transportation:

Futuristic floating pods in tubes, it’s Hyperloop.

Hyperloop is the system with the potential to revolutionize transportation. Passengers sit in a floating pod or capsule that can travel at subsonic speeds through a low pressure steel tube supported above the ground by concrete pillars. A trip between Los Angeles and San Francisco would take 35 minutes. For comparison, the same trip would take 7 hours by car and 80 minutes of non stop flying by plane.

It’s more than just fast.

• Hyperloop is safe. 94% of deadly car crashes are caused by human error. Instead of entrusting many humans to drive their own cars, Hyperloop offers automated public transportation. There will be high security levels, like that of an airport. Hyperloop also has systems in place to deal with every issue you could possibly worry about: tube or capsule depressurization, medical emergencies, earthquakes, power outages, or stranded capsules.
• It’s surprisingly low cost. $6b USD is the total cost of Hyperloop with two tubes from Los Angeles and San Francisco and 40 capsules. Much lower cost than the California high speed rail. (Ahem, $100b.)
• It’s convenient. The capsules can be boarded every 2 minutes, and as often as every 30 seconds during rush hours. Passengers board the capsules or pods from stations on either end of the tube in Los Angeles and San Francisco, or from branches along the tube.
• Weather has no effect. Pods run within the carefully maintained tube environment, shielded by the tube walls and impervious to wind, ice, fog, and rain.
• It’s self-powering. Solar panels will be placed on top of the tubes to provide more than enough energy to run the system, routing excess to battery packs. This makes its energy usage sustainable.
• Unlike roads and rails that cut through land and airplanes that interfere with birds, Hyperloop is undisruptive. It will be built on pillars next to already existent major freeways (I-5). The land needed for Hyperloop is very small as a result, only that of the pillars and stations.

It’s hella fast and levitates? Close your mouth, here’s how.

Air is compressed and pushed out through the bottom of the pod, suspending it on a cushion of air. No wheels = no wheel on ground friction.

The pod is suspended using a concept similar to that of an air hockey table. Pucks glide smoothly with minimal physical contact with the ground, being suspended by pressurized air. The same way, the capsule’s air bearings push air out of the capsule against the tube walls, making a pressurized cushion of air a fraction of an inch tall. They can be thought of like air skis, helping the capsule to glide smoothly through the tube, with a comfortable ride for the passengers.

To do this, the capsule uses an axial compressor to take in and compress air that builds up in front of capsule. Some of the compressed air travels down a tube along the bottom of the capsule and is released at the back end to produce some thrust. The rest of the air is compressed further, cooled by intercoolers, and then stored on board. This air is what is later used in the suspension mechanism of the pod.

The tube uses vacuum pumps to maintain a low pressure environment, reducing air resistance so capsules can travel FAST.

The tube has an air pressure that is 1/1000 the air pressure we live in. Vacuum pumps along the tube expel air inside it. Less air = less friction and air resistance = faster travel.

There are consequences of travelling at subsonic speeds: shockwaves.

Shock waves are formed if air passes around the capsule at subsonic velocities. The waves prevent air in front of the capsule from moving out of its way, and a column of air will be formed in front of the capsule. The capsule will have to push behind it, increasing power to maintain speed against air resistance, which isn’t sustainable or affordable. The axial compressor gobbles up this air, one way of dealing with the problem. Additionally, the capsule to tube diameter ratio is perfected (60%) to allow air to easily pass around the capsule.

The capsule accelerates using linear induction motors.

An induction motor has two main parts: a rotor and a stator. The rotor is mounted to the bottom side of the capsule, and the stator is mounted to the bottom of the tube. Attraction and repulsion between the two cause movement.

The stator has sections with permanent north and south polarities. An alternating current, a current that changes direction, runs through the sections of the rotor. When a current runs through the copper coils of the rotor, it gains a north or south polarity depending on the direction of the current, and creates a magnetic field.

A rotor section with a north polarity will be repelled by a stator sector with a north polarity. It is attracted to the stator section with a south polarity ahead of it, and moves forward. Once it is above the stator section it is attracted to, the current running through it changes direction, causing the rotor section to gain a south polarity. It is repelled and moves forward, and the cycle continues.

With lots of work to be put in to find the best designs, Musk open sourced the project. Many are working to make their impact on the technology.

Musk’s SpaceX hosted Hyperloop pod competitions where student teams built prototypes of high-speed Hyperloop pods and tested them, judged on their maximum speed and successful deceleration. After the success of the last three competitions in January 2017, August 2017, and July 2018, SpaceX has announced another competition in 2019!

Elon’s The Boring Company, with a punny name about boring tunnels, has fast approaching plans!

Besides his own, a few companies have taken on Elon’s Hyperloop initiative. Virgin Hyperloop One, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Arrivo

Currently, Hyperloop test tracks exist in California and Nevada, with more being constructed around the world.

Key Takeaways

• This $6b solution has all the traits of an ideal transportation system.
• Pods use linear induction motors to accelerate in low pressure tubes, floating on a cushion of pressurized air.
• Lots of people are excited to work on Hyperloop. The technology has a bright future ahead.

Leave claps for Hyperloop! I hope you learned something new. Thanks so much for reading!