EXPLAINING THE HYPERLOOP

HyperLoop ...?

Billed as the fastest way to across the surface of the earth, hyperloop represent the greatest leap in transport infrastructure for our new generations

With passengers sitting in pods that travel at the airline speed through pressurized 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.

While 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 revolutionize our worlds.

EXPLAINING THE HYPERLOOP.

Hyperloop was first conceived in 2012 by tesla and SpaceX founder, Elon Musk.

In a white paper released the following years, musk set out his vision for a futuristic, super high-speed transportation system that would see passengers pods move through a partial vacuum in steel tubes - addressing the two key factors that slow down conventional vehicles: friction and air systems.

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 three hour air travel experience between the two cities to just 30 minutes.

                                                Elon musk in TED Conference

Under musk first hyperloop proposal, he suggested that compression fans would move air around the passenger's pods to minimize drag and create “air bearing” beneath them, floating them off the surface of the tubes.

It should be noted that the musk early hyperloop concept is not a million miles away from the Isambard Kingdom Brunel's atmospheric railway that ran between Exeter and Plymouth I the UK from 1847 to 1848.  

that system moved carriages with pressurized air. The air 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 initials success, the leather flaps that made the vacuum pipes airtight soon began to fail to cause air to leak from the system and Brunel's railways were abandoned.

With an estimated price tag close to $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 an intense interest.

From inception, musk and always stated that the concept of the hyperloop would be “ opensource “- and he actively encourages others to come together and developed the necessary technology, independently from his involvements.

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 the hyperloop system into reality

Hyperloop transportations technologies of 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 standing, are virgin hyperloop one.

VERGINE HYPERLOOP ONE.

Vergine hyperloop one is o track to achieve their bold ambitions 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 passengers pods and move then along their rails .megnetic levitation uses two sets of magnets: one to repel the train from the track and lift it upward and the other to move the floating train along the track at considerable speed with reducing friction.

The second principles are the use of the low-pressure vacuum-sealed environments for the passenger's pods to travels 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 the move. the air pressure inside the tube is equivalent to flying 200,000 feet above sea level. such an environment enables the pods to reach the speed of over 760 mph using very little energy.

Under being in a tune, the system is protected from the weather and can operate in almost any climate conditions.

Virgin hyperloop one’s system controlled by software that ensures acceleration and deceleration occurs gradually, going relatively unnoticed by those traveling inside.

Having built a 500-meter track in the Nevada desert, virgin hyperloop one has carried out several tests focusing on individuals aspects of the system and a complete full-scale system test in May 2012.

The populations, braking, levitation, and vacuum system are all performing well and the team has achieved a top speed of over 240mph to date.

WHERE WILL HYPERLOOPS BE BUILT.

 

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 places to benefits from the 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 location on how to best deliver the hyperloop technologies in live networks.

In February 2018, the firm unveiled its 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.

                                                          hyperloop station

WHY HYPERLOOP …?

The advantages of hyperloop are considerable likes train station, hyperloop stations, called portals, are planned to be located within the inner city area with an easy link to existing transport infrastructure.

This gives the hyperloop system a distinct advantage over air travel, where the airport tends to be located beyond city limits with fewer accessibility option.

Additionally, the system is being developed to function on a “ turn up and go “ principals without a lengthy check-in process and with accelerated, advanced security checks.

  virgin-hyperloop one and Saudi-Arabia partners

Another clears benefits is its speed. if hyperloop could significantly reduce the travel time between the 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 lived close to where they work.

It could also take the pressure off our cities where infrastructure is often still catching up with development, and where house prices have become unattainable for most.

With speed rivaling aircraft, and nine of the top 10 busiest air routes in the world being domestic, hyperloop has the potentials to completely revolutionize the way we live, work and travel.

A hyperloop system required very little energy to propel podes through its tube as the vacuum environments pose little resistance.

As such, the system should be powered by renewable technologies such as solar and wind, offering a considerable cleaner alternative to air travel.

SAFETY  

When you considered the prospect of the people being propelled in tubes across the earth’s surface at nearly supersonic speed, several questions 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 of external impact.

Virgine hyperloop one explains that tget have addressed this 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 mainti=aining 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 routes and to repressurize sections where significant emergencies occur and all pods expected to be fitted with emergency exits.

Externally, the hyperloop system will largely travel on elevated seismically designed pylons that able to move and flex independently of one another minimizing damage in the event of the major ground shift. Sensors along the routs would instantly report issues to the system control centers.

In answering the natural safety concerns raised, virgin hyperloop one also points out that millions of people already travel at high-speed metal tubes every time they take a flight, and that numerous concern surrounded the use of aircraft when that mode of transportation first came to prevalence.

While the idea of the hyperloop may seem far-fetched, when you consider the industrial progress made in the past 200 years, the current rate of the 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 very soon.