It is faster and cheaper than taking the plane and you do not have to leave Earth… Embark on Hyperloop, the train of the
future straight out of the mind of Elon Musk, the American billionaire!
Elon Musk, born in South Africa in 1971,
studied at Queen's University in Canada and at Stanford University in the
United States. This wacky character is the real-life Iron
Man since he is a jack-of-all-trades scientific genius. Judge for yourself: at twelve,
he created his first video game program, and, before the age of thirty, he had created
the Zip2 computer software which allows content to published online, as well as bank
X and the PayPal online secure payment system. He is also the inventor
of the electric cars of his Tesla Motors company and the founder of SpaceX,
the space rocket company. He masters every technological domain, and his
fortune is estimated at about $ 12.7 billion.
Hyperloop is a revolutionary means of
transport: a train that will run at 1220 km per hour, i.e. just under the speed
of sound, through a steel tube in which there is no air resistance (i.e. in a vacuum).
Imagine a rollercoaster ride of carriages rushing unrestrained in a tube in
which the air pressure is the same as in the stratosphere (45 km up in the sky).
It is almost like being in space and so energy consumption will be very low.
However, it will be necessary to ensure the safety of the passengers; they risk
suffocating if the train breaks down inside the tube...
How does Hyperloop run? The train leaves
the station on an electric engine. Then, once inside the tube, the train takes
in air, compresses it and then pumps it out from behind in order to propel itself
forward. It accelerates thanks to a magnetic system powered by solar panels
fixed on the tube.
The 750 km separating Paris from Marseille
would be swallowed up in only 45 minutes. The TGV takes 3 hours and 20 minutes
and a car 7 hours. One could live on the coast, and go to work in the capital! The
Hyperloop is ecologically friendly, silent and safe, and its construction cost
would be much lower than the cost of the TGV.
Elon Musk is too busy with Tesla and
SpaceX and so has called on companies to take up the challenge of building the
Hyperloop. For the while, two companies are vying for the project: Hyperloop
technologies and Hyperloop transportation technologies. A prototype is planned for
this year and the first trains should be running within five years. Maybe you
will be among the first passengers!
Article by Jean Plassart, Nicolas Barbarin & Nicolas Moyne from Massillon (Clermont-Fd)
