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Hyperloop

Ever since Elon Musk unveiled his Hyperloop concept in August 2013, there've been organizations working to bring at least a test track online and run across if the concept can work. One of those companies, Hyperloop Technologies Inc, has announced that its own plans are moving forward. The arrangement will build its Propulsion Open-Air Test (POAT) near Las Vegas, Nevada.

As the name implies, POAT will be used to test linear electric motors. Linear induction motors are typically used in maglev trains (in low-acceleration applications) and for coil and railguns (in awesome, high-speed applications). Musk's original whitepaper on the subject field mentioned linear electric motors as the practical method of driving Hyperloop capsules, and a follow-up newspaper from Hyperloop Technologies appears to agree with this, though the company notes it's exploring multiple methods of stabilizing the capsule in the tube, including the proposed air cushion likewise equally a wheel-based solution.

The larger question, of course, is whether or not the Hyperloop represents a fifth mode of transportation (as compared to track, roads, flight, and sea travel), or if it's an interesting idea without much current practicality. Hyperloop Technologies has said in by presentations that it would similar to run across the cost of a Hyperloop ticket driven down into the $twenty-$30 range over the long term and believes it could be competitive for long-distance (or fast delivery) freight hauling. At $20-$30 a ticket, a Hyperloop network could conceivably deliver passengers from Point A to Point B at greater-than airline speed for Greyhound prices. That'southward an extremely bonny proposition for all sorts of reasons, but we're withal a long way from proving that a existent-world Hyperloop can be built and operated while maintaining sustainable revenue.

Proposed Hyperloop network

Proposed Hyperloop network

Hyperloop Technologies envisions a network of tubes spanning most of the state, but this model actually shows the difficulty of ramping upwardly a new mode of transport. Compare the map of proposed HT hubs with the current map of Usa air coverage.

US domestic flights

U.s. domestic flights

Equally someone who enjoys air travel simply slightly more than being attacked past giant wasps, I'm sympathetic to the argument that Hyperloop transport could provide a faster, cheaper method of transportation. Even if the technology works, however, I'm not sure the business case volition. It may provide specific options to users in destination cities traveling directly betwixt them, but it's more difficult to brand a case for indicate-to-signal Hyperloop transport replacing the air network. Air travel is cumbersome and inconvenient, particularly if you don't alive in a hub city and have to travel through multiple airports to attain a destination — merely every bit the above diagram shows, seventy years of expansion have created a network that serves a huge pct of the United states of america.

Withal, we won't know if the solution tin work until we've tried to build one. Hopefully Hyperloop Technologies' motor tests volition shed more light on the kinds of designs that work well in this context and pave the way for further testing in 2017 – 2018.