Billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk is getting more hands-on with the Hyperloop.
Musk, who heads up both space transportation outfit SpaceX and electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors, casually announced via Twitter on Thursday that he's decided to help accelerate development of his vision for near-supersonic tube transportation, first outlined in August 2013.
Musk said he will build a five-mile test track for the still-theoretical system for students and companies to use. A possible location would be Texas, he added, where presumably there is plenty of flat land to go around.
Musk originally floated the idea of the Hyperloop with help from fellow SpaceX and Tesla engineers, releasing their collective work in a 57-page concept paper that generated headlines worldwide. Until today, Musk has been notably hands-off about the project and has said it remains an open-source and collaborative process. SpaceX declined to comment further on Musk's plans or whether the test track will involve additional collaboration from members of his two companies.
Musk is known for dropping bombshell announcements on his personal Twitter account, like when a rocket from his space transportation outfit SpaceX exploded mid-flight because "rockets are tricky" or how he thinks artificial intelligence may be more dangerous than nukes.
Though Musk speaks of the Hyperloop with similar nonchalance, the idea could revolutionize land transportation. It's simpler than it sounds. A Hyperloop would work similarly to an air hockey table, but instead of floating on a cushion of air, solar-powered electromagnetic pulses would propel pressurized cabins inside elevated tubes.
Theoretically, the resulting system could reach speeds approaching 800 mph, faster than the speed of sound, through tubes held up by pylons placed between strategic cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. The system still needs years of testing, and as much as $10 billion to create even just one 400-mile stretch.
Yet Musk's willingness to get involved after almost a year and a half of silence on the subject shows he's serious about the idea and will, as he has with his other ventures, spend some of his own money to get it off the ground.
Musk is known for taking risks and transforming industries. He did it with Web-based payments and PayPal during the first dot-com era -- then again with electric vehicles and private spaceflight.
Critics, including members of the US High Speed Rail Association, say high-speed rail is a more-viable option. High-speed rail is widely used throughout Asia, and the state of California this month broke ground for its high-speed rail system costing $70 billion. Musk has criticized the project's high costs and sees the Hyperloop as leapfrogging the technology.
Musk isn't alone in trying to make the idea a reality. A group of entrepreneurs and scientists have banded together to create Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. Put together first on a crowdfunding platform called JumpStartFund, it's a collective of around 100 engineers, unaffiliated with Musk, who exchange free time for potential equity. Each works in small teams focused on specific interests, such as designing passenger pods and propulsion prototypes.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has also partnered with UCLA's SUPRASTUDIO design and architecture program to design capsules and stations, as well as work out prospective routes around the country that could potentially be linked into a nationwide Hyperloop network.
JumpStartFund refused to comment on Musk's plans, but CEO Dirk Ahlborn said the company will know soon where a finalized test site will be located.
I choose this article because I am interested in new technological advances. Last year, when Elon Musk announced that he has a plan to build a futuristic train to connect the cities of Los Angeles to San Fransico, everyone was shocked because he claimed that the train could travel the distance in thirty minutes. I was among the shocked. But now, Musk further reveals that he actually wants to carry out the plan by saying that he plans to build a prototype test loop. If Musk successfully builds the Hyperloop, connecting Los Angeles and San Fransico in thirty minutes, then the possibilities are endless. A train could be built connecting a city in New Jersey to New York City for those working in New York but live in New Jersey. Another train could connect Manchester and London, for those people living in Britain. Then when technology allows it, oversea travel could be an option. Imagine a train that could cross the Pacific from the US to China in under ten hours. As I said, the possibilities are endless.
THIS IS SO COOL! It almost reminds me of the Lorax, I feel like our country can turn into Sneedsville in a couple hundred years. I am also very interested in new technological advances. I can't believe that this can connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in thirty minutes! That's insane, now they better start working on a train to connect America to Europe in thirty minutes... that would be amazing!
ReplyDeleteI acknowledge that this is cool, but recall that this has been created already in so many other countries. Instead of something that seems foreign to us, as the great nation of Unites States of America, we should have this form of technology already, as we are a nation on the forefront of advancements. Unfortunately, restrictions have inhibited growth of such infrastructure. For one, there are various congressmen who do not like the establishment of high-speed vacuum trains, just because of the destruction of the environment, and the removal of property to build these tubes. The thing about these tubes is that they have to be perfectly straight, so that the train doesn't slow down on turns. That means that property would have to be taken away from certain people all over the country, which invoked countless protests. Still, imagine the efficiency of our country now. Getting around the country would be much faster.
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ReplyDeleteThis idea is so cool! Transportation would definitely be more efficient in the US with technology like this. However, with new found railroads comes the reduction of flat land which could be used to increase our agricultural economy. Plus, this railroad system would take away the habitats of many animals with the need for construction of new stations for the trains to stop at and refuel.
DeleteNice one Henry! I like how the Hyperloop works on solar-powered electromagnetic pulses which would propel pressurized cabins inside elevated tubes. Although its expensive, going 800 mph is something I want to try desperately.
ReplyDeleteAlso Tesla Model X coming up! Techies rule!