Sister blog of Physicists of the Caribbean in which I babble about non-astronomy stuff, because everyone needs a hobby

Friday, 14 July 2017

The first hyperloop test doesn't impress me

I doubt very much this will ever become a thing, but you never know.

The step into the future occurred in May at the company’s Nevada test track, where engineers watched a magnetically levitating test sled fire through a tube in near-vacuum, reaching 70 mph in just over five seconds. That is but a fraction of the 700 mph or so Hyperloop One promises, but put that aside for now. What matters here is all the elements required to make hyperloop work, worked: propulsion, braking, and the levitation and vacuum systems that all but eliminate friction and air resistance so that pod shoots through the tube at maximum speed with minimal energy.

https://www.wired.com/story/hyperloop-one-test-success/

2 comments:

  1. I'd say the Hyperloop is more likely to succeed than, say, Mars colonies or the Boring Company tunnels with sledges for private cars.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't see the Boring thing going anywhere at all. The Hyperloop - well, maybe, in some specific cases, but I don't see it being feasible/affordable on a large scale as an ordinary means of transport. Mars colonises depends on timescale.

    ReplyDelete

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