HYPERLOOP - Because Time is of Essence
We all know about the Newton’s 1st
Law of Motion or the so called Inertia
right from our school day and since Elon Musk doesn’t seem to forget his
basics, he came up with something based on this theory which is known as the
Hyperloop.
Many of us know the word pretty well. Elon Musk gave the idea behind Hyper-loop and made project open-source so that any company which desires to go ahead in the direction of faster travel can take the idea and bring it to reality.
Currently three companies are working on
the concept prominently, Hyperloop One, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies
and Transpod.
Other companies working on the model are Arivo and Hardt Global
Mobility. Also Elon Musk led SpaceX is building a test track at their company
head-quarters in California.
It is considered that the travel time
will drop down significantly by this and also the other main aspect which is
environmental pollution will decrease.
So how can a train achieve the speeds
of 760 Mph which is very close to Mach 1 speed and that too
with lower emissions?
As the concept of Maglev is both very
costly and there is also the additional difficulty of maintaining a vacuum over
large distances it does not seem very probable.
The Hyper-Loop uses pressurised
chambers of steel that work at the pressure of approximately 1 millibar that
will act like partial vacuum. In the original concept the tube would float
about 0.05 inches above like the air hockey pucks, allowing speeds that cannot
be achieved by vehicles with wheels. Hyperloop One uses passive maglev for the
same purpose.
Linear induction
motors will be fitted on the tubes which will allow the tubes to accelerate
and decelerate according to the need. Due the pressure conditions rolling
resistance will be eliminated and the air resistance will be reduced significantly
thus allowing the module to glide for most of the distance.
In Elon Musk’s original concept it was
proposed that an electrically driven inlet fan and an air compressor would be
placed at the nose of the module to actively transfer high-pressure air from
front to rear resolving the problem of high pressure building in the front
which results in slowing down the vehicle.
A fraction of the air is shunted to
the skis for additional pressure which helps to gain passively from lift due to
their shape. Hyperloop One does away with the compressor.
The designs propose that passengers
will experience a maximum inertial acceleration of 0.5g, about 2 to 3 times
that of a commercial airliner during take -off or landing. At those speeds,
there would not be a sonic boom.
Due to this a Six hour trip can be
made into a 35 minute one!
Like every coin has two sides, there
are some problems also. The initial cost that is predicted is 6 Billion Dollars
which some experts believe is not even ten percent. Also the people travelling
will be subjected to significant acceleration forces high noise levels due to
air being compressed and ducted around the capsule at near-sonic speeds; and
the vibration and jostling. Also at such high speeds even minor deviations will
cause considerable buffeting. And there is always a question of what might
happen in case of emergencies and accidents.
So why, after all these problems do we
need ventures like Hyperloop to succeed?
The conventional methods of travelling
are exhausting the fuel resources and also harming the environment through
pollution. Thus we need ideas like Hyperloop to exist and fight through the
problems to give us a feasible solution. Also the travelling speed is a major
plus in case of Hyperloop. The journey of hours gets converted in just few
minutes.
The current situation is that all
three companies have started collecting fund and getting the investors on-board. In March 2016, HTT announced its
intention to build a network of Hyperloop tracks connecting Vienna, Bratislava,
and Budapest, with Slovakia serving as a hub between the three. Many such
routes are talked about.
Hyperloop
in India
HTT decided to implement the idea of Hyperloop in India to check its
feasibility and has reportedly got offers from five states to start the
Hyperloop in. HTT has sent a letter to the Transportation Minister Nitin
Gadkari for starting the work. They have proposed to connect Mumbai with Pune
and Delhi.
Also, Hyperloop India is a team of
students of Indian Universities and colleges which have secured a place in the
24 team event of SpaceX’s Hyperloop Pod Competition and will represent the
country at the event in August. The team has done a commendable job by
acquiring a spot in this venture being one of the only two teams from Asia.
Despite of all the challenges faced by
the Project, Elon Musk is known to be a determined person who knows well how to
scale the rough seas and turn the tides in his favour. So, hoping that the challenges
are conquered and our hour-long journeys can be converted into minutes, STAY
TUNED GUYS and you’ll be looped toward the further advancements in science and
technology.
And YES, don’t forget to follow,
share, comment and subscribe us.
Connect with us on: -
Awesome.
ReplyDeleteThnx🤘
Delete