Hyperloop is a futuristic transportation technology, proposed by tech billionaire Elon Musk that will use reduced pressure tubes in which pressurized capsules ride on an air cushion. Known as the fifth mode of transportation, Hyperloop showed its mettle in the north of Las Vegas in the Nevada desert.
The first public open air test in the Nevada desert on Wednesday lasted for only about two seconds but gave a spine chilling experience to the audiences. Fifteen hundred pounds of aluminum reached 120 mph in just 1.5 seconds, accelerating to 300 mph before it hitting the sand. Now transportation of people and goods inexpensively and safely at lightning speed is no more a dream.
The company which is vying to turn the idea into reality was established in 2014 as Hyperloop Technologies, Inc. and re-branded in 2016 as Hyperloop One. Hyperloop One got $37 million in funding to build the test track. A recent round of $80 million included France’s railway system SNCF.
If things go in the right direction then, Hyperloop would be able to work by propelling pods at high speeds through a tube, which in theory would be able to make the journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles in just 30 minutes.
The Hyperloop is essentially a futuristic train that Musk calls “a cross between a Concorde, a rail-gun and an air hockey table”. This speed was never thought to be possible but soon it would be.
Rob Lloyd, CEO of Hyperloop One, said in a statement:
“We will work alongside these world-class partners to redefine the future of transportation, providing a more immediate, safe, efficient and sustainable high-speed backbone for the movement of people and things.”
Hyperloop recently announced partnerships with governments and investors. Hyperloop one is trying to master the above ground routes first and then underwater routes. Hyperloop would be able to solve the most complex transportation issues faced nowadays. Though critics have reservation related to the travel experience of humans being packed in tubes, Hyperloop is surely the future of transportation.
From the successful Nevada test, one message is loud and clear that the age of Hyperloop has arrived!
