Elon Musk Given Verbal Approval to Build Hyperloop
Elon Musk recently tweeted that he has received “verbal” approval to build a Hyperloop between Washington D.C. and New York. The current rail system takes just under 3 hours to travel between the two cities, whereas the Hyperloop will take just 30 minutes.
The world’s fastest train, the Shanghai Maglev, can reach a top speed of 430 kilometers per hour. The average passenger plane is capable of cruising at around 900 km/h.
Air becomes viscous at high speeds, so cutting through it requires an enormous amount of power. This is where the proposed Hyperloop will differ from conventional modes of transportation. It will travel inside a vacuum, so friction and air resistance won't slow it down. Hovering above electromagnetic motors, the Hyperloop is expected to reach a top speed of 1200 km/h.
Musk did not specify who gave him verbal approval for the project, but is “optimistic” that formal approval, planning permission and necessary permits “will occur rapidly.”
The White House said in a statement that it has had “promising conversations” with Musk and is supportive of “transformative infrastructure projects.”
Musk has also expressed interest in building a Hyperloop between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which he said would cost around $6 billion and would take 7 -10 years to build.
The concept of pneumatic tubes as a mode of transportation has been around for over 150 years. The New York postal service used it to power the mail system for 5 decades. Hospitals still use them to this day as an effective means of transporting lab samples between floors.
In 1870, Alfred Ely Beach developed a tube system that could transport passengers along a very short line. It was not used for public transport but as a way of showing off the new technology.
Sadly, Beach couldn’t find investors willing to support his idea, even though New Yorkers hailed it as the future of transportation. Musk’s Hyperloop is far more complicated than Beach's design, but the vision remains the same.
First commercially operated high-speed magnetic levitation line in the world
