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The Fifth mode of transport: HYPERLOOP
Hello everyone,
In this fast running world, reaching somewhere on time or before the time is very crucial. Transportation services like airplanes make it feasible for us. But an entirely new transportation technology is being developed which is known as HYPERLOOP. The hypothetical speed of a hyperloop is saying to be around 1200 km/h, which means equal to the speed of sound (1235 km/h). The hyperloop developed by the company Virgin Hyperloop One at this time has a speed of 172 km/h (with humans). The goal is to achieve sound speed with a hyperloop. The future is clearly brighter and anytime soon we are going to achieve it.
The fifth mode of transport, HYPERLOOP was first proposed by Elon Musk in 2012. The design was first described by a joint team of Tesla and SpaceX. The hyperloop was made open-sourced to encourage other companies to take interest in this concept. As a result of this, many companies took the idea and started to develop it further and a brand new transportation mode was born.What is Hyperloop Technology?
The hyperloop technology has a hypothetical speed of 760 mph (1200 km/h) as per Hyperloop Genesis Paper conceived. The list of companies is given here which took the idea of Hyperloop and developed it further.
- Virgin Hyperloop One
- Hyperloop Transportation Technology
- TransPod
- DGWHyperloop
- Arrivo
- Hardt Global Mobility
- Zeleros
- Hyper Poland
From all these companies, the Virgin Hyperloop One Company took a long leap towards hyperloop technology. This company had tested the hyperloop technology with two humans.
The hyperloop technology concept is really futuristic. The concept is to run a vactrain in a tube-like structure that is airless or partly airless removing the air resistance. Air resistance is a general obstacle in all the four-mode of transportation (by air, by water, by road, and by railway). The advantage of this hyperloop technology is that there is no or minimum air resistance. Hence, it enables the hyperloop pod to travel at a speed more than any other transportation mode.
Basically, it is a pod inside which 28 passengers can sit. The pod travels in a tube which has a vacuum and the tube is evacuated or partly evacuated. The difficulty in maintaining the vacuum and the high cost of maglev make it difficult to build the hyperloop technology quickly. When hyperloop technology will become reality, there will be seats for 28 passengers in one transportation pod.
Virgin Hyperloop One tests hyperloop technology:
The Virgin Hyperloop One company carried out the human trials of hyperloop technology with a man and a woman. They became the first humans to travel in the fifth mode of transportation. A specially developed pod consisting of 2 seats traveled with the company’s Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Josh Giegel and Director of passenger Experience, Sara Luchian. During the testing, the pod achieved a speed of around 172 km/h. They covered the distance of 500 m in just 15 seconds.
Josh Giegel |
Sara Luchian |
Hyperloop in India:
India is also in the race of developing the hyperloop technology with the same company which carried out the testing i.e., Virgin Hyperloop One. This company will soon organize the testing with Virgin Hyperloop Power Electronics’ specialist Mr. Tanay Manjrekar.
Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop (Company: Virgin Hyperloop One)
On February 28, 2018, Virgin Hyperloop One did MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to build the hyperloop technology system between Mumbai and Pune. The current travel time between Mumbai and Pune is 180 minutes which will be reduced to just 20 minutes with hyperloop technology.
Mumbai-Delhi Hyperloop (Company: DGWHyperloop)
The company DGWHyperloop which is an Indore-based Company, in talks with developing hyperloop technology between Mumbai and Delhi via Indore, Kota and Jaipur.
Chennai-Bengaluru Hyperloop (Company: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, HTT)
The company is in the process to sign a letter to develop the hyperloop technology route between Chennai-Bengaluru, which will cover the distance of 345 km in 30 minutes only.
Amravathi-Vijaywada Hyperloop (Company: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, HTT)
The company HTT also signed a contract with Andhra Pradesh Government to build India’s first hyperloop project between Amravathi and Vijaywada. This will become a ride of 6 minutes only.
Conclusion: As the world is developing further and further every day, mankind will need new technology day by day. Hyperloop technology is one of them which makes our future speedy. Although there is much criticism against this concept. Also, there are many human factors as well as political and economical considerations that continue to raise questions on safety and security against the hyperloop concept.
| Hyperloop Mastermind |
Elon Musk had put all this criticism and consideration aside and took this hyperloop technology to a new level. According to Elon Musk, the hyperloop technology would be very useful on Mars for transportation as no tubes would be needed because Mars’ atmosphere is about 1% the density of earth at sea level. The lower air resistance on Mars would allow us to develop the hyperloop technology on Mars with no tubes and direct tracks. His statements amaze me all the time.
Thank You.