the ability to maintain a vacuum in the tube, especially one hundreds of miles long, is one of the steepest challenges facing the hyperloop. every time a pod arrives at a station, it has to decelerate and stop.
two days after hyperloop-one sets a new speed record(*) of 240 mile per hour record company announces it has raised $50 million and richard branson is coming aboard as chairman.
the test took place at its development track in the nevada desert, north of las vegas. a 28-foot-long pod does this inside a 1,600-foot-long concrete test tube where air pressure is reduced to 200,000 feet above sea level. what’s new is magnetic levitation where the pod hovers above the test track to reduce friction.
the ability to maintain a vacuum in the tube, especially one hundreds of miles long, is one of the steepest challenges facing the hyperloop. every time a pod arrives at a station, it has to decelerate and stop. then the airlock will have to close, pressurize, and open again. then the pod has to clear the airlock before the next pod arrives. the speed in which this occurs will determine the distance between pods.
musk pitched an idea in 2013 for a massive vacuum tube that could whisk passengers in pressurized cabins from new york to los angeles in 45 minutes. he’s getting closer. musk is also working on a tunnel digging concept with the boring company. richard branson also runs spacex both musk and branson working together, innovative electric cars, space travel, and transportation, is scary in a very good way. fingers crossed.
video courtesy of virgin
(*) not sure in what category. my benchmark is craig breedlove going 555.485 miles per hour in 1965 driving spirt of america.