It is a proposed high speed transportation system for both public and goods transport .
This is based on the vactrain concept .
Hyperloop system comprises of three essential elements :
- Tubes
- Pods
- Terminals
Tube : It is a large sealed , low pressure system .
Pods : It is a coach pressurized at atmospheric pressure that runs substantially free of air resistance or friction inside the tube .
Terminals : Will handle the arrival and departure of pods
Vactrain concept
It is a proposed design for a very high speed rail transportation . Vactrain or vacuum tube train .
As the name suggests its a design where the train runs in a tube which has reduced air resistance and thus will increase the speed immensely .
Elon Musk
Brought the concept of Hyperloop in light in a 2012 speaking event.
Musk promoted the concept of Hyperloop by publishing a white paper in August 2013, which conceived of a hyperloop route running from the Los Angeles region to the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly following the Interstate 5 corridor.
The hyperloop concept has been promoted by Musk and SpaceX, and other companies or organizations have been encouraged to collaborate and develop the technology.
Companies working on it :
- Space X
- Conducted pod design competitions in which Technical University of Munich won.
- Virgin Hyperloop
- Is an American transportation technology company that works to commercialise the high speed travel concept called the Hyperloop.
- Conducted first human trial in November 2020 at its test site in LA .
- Reaching speed of 172km/ hr .
Working
Normally any mode of transportation has to face friction and air resistance which hinders the speed .
But in the hyperloop both of these things are taken care of and thus , as a result the hyperloop will be able to reach such a high speed .
Friction : pods will use Maglev technology . Opposite sides of the magnet attract while the same side repels .
i.e north , north will repel and will not touch each other ever .
Taking advantage of this principle, pods will be afloat on air and thus will beat friction .
This technology is already used in bullet trains .
Air resistance : vacuum will generate the tube .
Only 10% of the air will remain inside to avoid collapsing of the structure .
By removing most of the air a low pressure zone will be created inside the tube .
Vehicles were given pointier fronts to reduce the drag , but in this the air will be removed and speed will be increased immensely .
Advantages
- Pollution free
- High speed (estimated to cross 700mph)
- Noiseless system
- Saves time
- Use of solar power makes it eco friendly also .
Challenges
- Heavy investment .
- Environment .
For construction of tube trees could be required to be cut thus affecting the environment of the area .
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Malvika Tiwari, |
