Virgin's HyperLoop One, Is It Really The Future Of Travel?
Virgin Hyperloop One, a mag-lev based system in which a ‘pod’ can theoretically travel upwards of 1000km/h. Is it viable? Many have debated this question, as the system is based off a vacuum, what if the tunnel was to be pierced? What if the brake system was to malfunction? Many different fatal scenarios have been debated by experts and amateur scientists, but the backers and leaders of the project stand firmly behind their dream, a 30-minute journey between LA and San Francisco.
And as proof of their dream, recently Hyperloop tests set another record, of 355km/h, for the technology just days after a different model hit 324km/h. Backers of the Hyperloop idea claim that in the end, the pods will go at velocities of around 1,000 km/h.
The idea for the form of the Hyperloop transportation system being created right now was floated in 2013 by Tesla supervisor Elon Musk. This week saw the main trial of model carriages or ‘pods’ on a one-mile-long test track close Los Angeles. A pod made by a German understudy group came top in this opposition.
In an Instagram post, Mr. Musk said that once the prototype competition was completed, the Hyperloop group let a "pusher pod" go by itself on the tunnel test track. The pusher pod was utilized to get a portion of the models moving down the track amid the tests.
Running by itself, the pusher unit set the new record before things started burning, wrote Mr. Musk. He described the exciting spectacle of the pod dashing down the track as "...kind of like racing with a tugboat". Changes to the test track may mean the cases hit 500 km/h one month from now, he said. However, the series of tests this week suggest the technology is near the top possible speed at which existing earthbound transport can travel. Its eventual goal is to reach 1,046km/h (650mph).
Not long ago, China began letting its rapid "Fuxing" trains go at velocities of around 350 km/h (217mph). It is also investigating approaches to update high-speed tracks to let the trains go faster - maybe at speeds moving toward and above 400km/h.
The Virgin investment group has taken an undisclosed stake in Hyperloop One, one of a few organizations endeavoring to make a pod-based transport framework. The terms of the arrangement have not been released. Virgin's founder, Sir Richard Branson, is joining the Los Angeles-based association's board as a part of the arrangement, and it is rebranding itself as Virgin Hyperloop One. One expert suggested the agreement would help raise the organization's profile.
"This is unproven technology and there's a long way to go before it ever finds itself in use in the real world,” remarked Professor David Bailey from Aston Business School. "But this deal will certainly help in terms of marketing and potentially attract further investors to come into the operation.