Hyperloop & Vactrain News and Discussions
Posted: Sun May 23, 2021 11:24 pm
This thread is dedicated to general discussions of hyperloop and vactrain technology, their deployment, and flaws.
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Hyperloop Transport Technologies has presented an ultra-high-speed shipping port logistics system it says can shift up to 2,800 containers a day, covering hundreds of kilometers in minutes – while decreasing emissions wherever it's rolled out.
The whole thing would be like a giant cargo-carrying version of the pneumatic tube systems that once blasted thousands of messages around every hour, back when things were all black and white. As long as those things were around, innovators dreamed of one day building scaled-up versions big enough to move passengers and cargo.
The hyperloop dream, of course, takes it all to the next level. Mag-lev rails eliminate rolling resistance, and hundreds of kilometers of sealed tubes would be vacuum-evacuated to nearly eliminate air resistance. Thus, most of the energy you use to accelerate a capsule up to supersonic speeds (don't worry, there's not enough air in there to create a sonic boom) can be recovered at the other end with minimal losses. Super-fast, super-efficient and pretty damn cool.
The Boring Company is finally going to make a full-scale version of Elon Musk’s Hyperloop – a new high-speed mode of transportation – and it is coming as soon as this year.
Back in 2013, Elon Musk released a white paper describing what he called the ‘Hyperloop’, a new mode of transportation consisting of building a near-hard vacuum environment in a tunnel or tube in order to move electric vehicles at high speeds more efficiently inside of them.
At the time, Musk put the idea out there and encourage other businesses to run with it. Several companies were founded around the idea, but almost a decade later, there are still no commercial applications of the system – though there are a few prototypes out there.
Musk later founded The Boring Company (TBC) to improve tunnel boring technology in order to help reduce traffic.
The main applications of TBC’s tunnels have been “Loops”, which are similar to the Hyperloop without the low-pressure environment. The company is focusing on developing loops under cities, like its first commercial application in Las Vegas, but it has also been working on some proposals for hyperloop systems to connect cities over longer distances.
Today, The Boring Company announced that it will deploy its first “full-scale” Hyperloop system for testing this year...
Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/china-succe ... m-h-65878(IFL Science) China claims to have successfully tested a hyperloop-style train on a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) test track in North China, in which a train is levitated above magnetic rails inside a vacuum tube. State-run media outlets are reporting the train reached speeds of 81 miles per hour (130 kilometers per hour) but the design could lead to speeds of up to 620 mph (1,000 km/h) once completed.
This is potentially the first time anyone in the world has constructed and tested such a design, and plans for a 60-kilometer test track are now underway.
Hyperloop trains use maglev technology, which is currently used globally in the form of high-speed bullet trains, but take it to the next level by then placing the tracks within a partial or full vacuum. The complete lack of air resistance or friction allows the trains to travel rapidly and efficiently, and passengers of hyperloop trains have even reported they are unaware of the speeds they are traveling at. With no rails and wheels, the floating pods also create virtually no sound, leading to a comfortable commute.
Virgin Hyperloop made history by completing the first-ever passenger trip with hyperloop technology in November 2020, demonstrating the technology can be safe and quite pleasant for passengers. The pods accelerated from 0 to over 100 mph in just six seconds, but passengers stated they did not feel the rapid acceleration. Unfortunately for hyperloop enthusiasts, the company laid off half their staff shortly after and announced they will no longer transport humans in their hyperloop trains.
https://newatlas.com/transport/china-vacuum-maglev/China's biggest missile manufacturer is working on a hyperloop. CASIC claims it's clocked the fastest speed ever for a superconducting maglev vehicle – over 623 km/h (387 mph) – during tests in a low-vacuum tube just 2 km (1.2 miles) long.
Hyperloop trains have become more or less a punchline in certain parts of the tech world, shorthand for ultra-high-tech projects that make grandiose claims of immense speed and efficiency, while ignoring several large elephants in the room that leave them with little practical chance of success.
The idea is simple enough: take the vacuum-tube messaging systems of the 1800s, upsize them until they can fit whole maglev trains inside, then suck all the air out and blast those trains around at thousands of miles per hour, enjoying ludicrous levels of efficiency. There's no air drag or wheel contact to sap power and slow you down, so you can go Mach 5 through a long vacuum tunnel without so much as a sonic peep. New York to LA in a coffee and a dump.