Tesla’s Elon Musk Envisions 4000MPH ‘Hyperloop’ Vacuum Transportation System
Think the future of transportation has us all in flying cars like the Jetsons? Think again. That's not something we're likely to see in our lifetime, however we may witness the completion of several "Hyperloop" transport systems designed to get you from point A to point B at breakneck speeds. This is the dream of Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, who describes Hyperloop as a "cross between a Concorde, a rail gun, and an air hockey table."
Alternately, you can think of it as an enclosed tube that's propped way up off the ground. It would use a magnetic levitation system similar to high-speed bullet trains, except passengers would travel in capsules across a surface with almost no friction.
A Colorado company called ET3 (Evacuated Tube Transport) is already working on making Musk's dream a reality by building a similar system and is planning a 3-mile trial run before the end of the year. This is just the beginning of bigger and faster things to come, According to ET3, a six-passenger capsule about the size of an automobile could hit speeds of 4,000 miles per hour on longer distances, such as going across the country or even continents.
Image Source: ET3
Something like this could make air travel obsolete. A trip from San Francisco to New York could be made in just 45 minutes with an estimated cost of $100 per passenger. Not only that, but tubes could be built underwater for international travel. Assuming it proves safe -- really, would you want to experience a crash at 4,000 MPH? -- Hyperloop systems could be the way future generations travel.
Alternately, you can think of it as an enclosed tube that's propped way up off the ground. It would use a magnetic levitation system similar to high-speed bullet trains, except passengers would travel in capsules across a surface with almost no friction.
A Colorado company called ET3 (Evacuated Tube Transport) is already working on making Musk's dream a reality by building a similar system and is planning a 3-mile trial run before the end of the year. This is just the beginning of bigger and faster things to come, According to ET3, a six-passenger capsule about the size of an automobile could hit speeds of 4,000 miles per hour on longer distances, such as going across the country or even continents.
Image Source: ET3
Something like this could make air travel obsolete. A trip from San Francisco to New York could be made in just 45 minutes with an estimated cost of $100 per passenger. Not only that, but tubes could be built underwater for international travel. Assuming it proves safe -- really, would you want to experience a crash at 4,000 MPH? -- Hyperloop systems could be the way future generations travel.
