Hyperloop: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:52, 20 June 2025

Revision as of 17:59, 20 June 2025

Line 3:

[[File:Hyperloop all cutaway.png|thumb|Concept art of hyperloop inner workings|265x265px]]

'''Hyperloop''' is a proposed high-speed [[transport]]ation system for both passengers and freight.<ref>{{cite web |last=Simon |first=Joanna |url=https://wagner.nyu.edu/rudincenter/2017/02/primer-hyperloop-travel-how-far-future |title=A Primer on Hyperloop Travel: How far off is the Future? |publisher=[[Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management]], [[New York University]] |access-date=2024-05-24}}</ref> The concept was recently re-popularisedpublished by billionaireentrepreneur [[Elon Musk]] in a 2013 [[white paper]], where the hyperloop was described as a transportation system using capsules supported by an [[air bearing|air-bearing surface]] within a low-pressure tube.<ref name="Alpha SpaceX" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Premsagar |first1=Smriti |last2=Kenworthy |first2=Jeffrey |date=2022 |title=A Critical Review of Hyperloop (Ultra-High Speed Rail) Technology: Urban and Transport Planning, Technical, Environmental, Economic, and Human Considerations |journal=[[Frontiers in Sustainable Cities]] |volume=4 |doi=10.3389/frsc.2022.842245 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2022FrSC....4.2245P }}</ref> Hyperloop systems have three essential elements: tubes, pods, and terminals. The tube is a large, sealed [[Vacuum#Vacuum-driven machines|low-pressure system]] (typically a long tunnel). The pod is a coach at [[atmospheric pressure]] that experiences low [[Drag (physics)|air resistance]] or friction inside the tube<ref name="mechsite2019092">{{cite web |last1=Opgenoord |first1=Max M. J. |title=How does the aerodynamic design implement in hyperloop concept? |url=https://mechanicalsite.com/446/how-does-the-aerodynamic-design-implement-hyperloop-concept |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003205826/https://mechanicalsite.com/446/how-does-the-aerodynamic-design-implement-hyperloop-concept |archive-date=3 October 2019 |access-date=16 September 2019 |website=Mechanical Engineering |publisher=MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lang |first1=Alex J. |last2=Connolly |first2=David P. |last3=de Boer |first3=Gregory |last4=Shahpar |first4=Shahrokh |last5=Hinchliffe |first5=Benjamin |last6=Gilkeson |first6=Carl A. |date=2024 |title=A review of Hyperloop aerodynamics |journal=Computers & Fluids |volume=273 |pages=106202 |doi=10.1016/j.compfluid.2024.106202}}</ref> using [[Maglev|magnetic propulsion]] (in the initial design, augmented by a [[ducted fan]]). The terminal handles pod arrivals and departures. The hyperloop, in the form proposed by Musk, differs from other [[Vactrain|vactrains]] by relying on residual air pressure inside the tube to provide lift from [[Aerofoil|aerofoils]] and propulsion by fans; however, many subsequent variants using the name "hyperloop" have remained relatively close to the core principles of vactrains.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Garfield |first=Leanna |title=15 remarkable images that show the 200-year evolution of the Hyperloop |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/history-hyperloop-pneumatic-tubes-as-transportation-2017-8#in-1799-inventor-george-medhurst-proposed-an-idea-to-move-goods-through-cast-iron-pipes-using-air-pressure-in-1844-he-built-a-railway-station-for-passenger-carriages-in-london-that-relied-on-pneumatics-until-1847-1 |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 25, 2021 |title=Timeline: tracing the evolution of hyperloop rail technology - Rainway-Technology |url=https://rail.nridigital.com/future_rail_mar21/hyperloop_rail_system_timeline}}</ref>

Hyperloop was teased by Elon Musk at a 2012 speaking event, and described as a "fifth mode of transport".<ref name="PandoDaily Hyperloop">{{cite web |title=Pando Monthly presents a fireside chat with Elon Musk |url=https://pando.com/2012/07/12/pandomonthly-presents-a-fireside-chat-with-elon-musk/ |website=pando.com |publisher=PandoDaily |access-date=15 July 2017 |date=13 July 2012 |archive-date=16 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716135721/https://pando.com/2012/07/12/pandomonthly-presents-a-fireside-chat-with-elon-musk/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Musk released details of an alpha-version in a [[white paper]] on 22 August 2013, in which the hyperloop design incorporated reduced-pressure tubes with [[pressurized]] capsules riding on [[air bearing]]s driven by [[linear induction motor]]s and [[axial compressor]]s.<ref name="gm20130822" /> The white paper showed an example hyperloop route running from the [[Los Angeles]] region to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], roughly following the [[Interstate 5 in California|Interstate 5]] corridor.<ref name="Alpha SpaceX" /> Some transportation analysts challenged the cost estimates in the white paper, with some predicting that a hyperloop would run several billion dollars higher.<ref name="NYT-Bilton" /><ref name="AJE" /><ref name="HuffPoAstronomical" />

Line 13:

==History==

Musk first mentioned that he was thinking about a concept for a "fifth mode of transport", calling it the ''Hyperloop'', in July 2012 at a [[Pando Daily]] event in [[Santa Monica, California]]. This hypothetical high-speed mode of transportation would have the following characteristics: immunity to weather, collision free, twice the speed of a plane, low power consumption, and energy storage for 24-hour operations.<ref name="pando_video" /> The name ''Hyperloop'' was chosen because it would go in a loop. In May 2013, Musk likened Hyperloop to a "cross between a [[Concorde]] and a [[railgun]] and an [[air hockey]] table".<ref name="atd20130530" /> By 2016, Musk envisioned that more advanced versions could potentially be able to go at [[hypersonic speed]].<ref name="youtube20160131">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab2VVp1GfmA |title=Elon Musk speaks at the Hyperloop Pod Award Ceremony |publisher=YouTube |date=30 January 2016 |access-date=2 February 2016 |archive-date=26 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026083851/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab2VVp1GfmA |url-status=live}}</ref>

The concept of pneumatic tube railways has been around since the [[18th century]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Macola |first=Ilaria Grasso |date=2021-03-25 |title=Timeline: tracing the evolution of hyperloop rail technology |url=https://www.railway-technology.com/features/timeline-tracing-evolution-hyperloop-rail-technology/ |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=Railway Technology |language=en-US}}</ref> originally conceptualised by [[United Kingdom|British]] engineer and inventor [[George Medhurst]]. The [[London and Croydon Railway]] built an experimental cargo station between [[1845]]-[[1847]] utilising a vacuum between rails and train for frictionless transport. Though the project was cancelled, other experimental lines emerged across [[Europe]] in the following decades.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reader |first=The MIT Press |date=2025-01-21 |title=The Hyperloop: A 200-Year History of Hype and Failure |url=https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-hyperloop-a-200-year-history-of-hype-and-failure/ |access-date=2025-06-20 |website=The MIT Press Reader |language=en}}</ref>

In 1909, [[United States|American]] engineer [[Robert H. Goddard]] published his article 'The Limit of Rapid Transit' in [[American Scientist]], expanding on the idea to incorporate magnetic levitation and a full vacuum tunnel, in which he conceptualised a train from [[Boston]] to [[New York City|New York]] in 12 minutes.

Despite various other attempts, however, the technology was deemed too impractical and/or expensive for creation or addition to existing infrastructure and so for much of the [[20th century]], the technology was abandoned in favour of improving and implementing [[Magnetic levitation (transport)|magnetic levitation]] trains.

Musk first mentioned that he was thinking about a concept for a "fifth mode of transport", calling it the ''Hyperloop'', in July 2012 at a [[Pando Daily]] event in [[Santa Monica, California]]. This hypothetical high-speed mode of transportation would have the following characteristics: immunity to weather, collision free, twice the speed of a plane, low power consumption, and energy storage for 24-hour operations.<ref name="pando_video" /> The name ''Hyperloop'' was chosen because it would go in a loop. In May 2013, Musk likened Hyperloop to a "cross between a [[Concorde]] and a [[railgun]] and an [[air hockey]] table".<ref name="atd20130530" /> By 2016, Musk envisioned that more advanced versions could potentially be able to go at [[hypersonic speed]].<ref name="youtube20160131">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab2VVp1GfmA |title=Elon Musk speaks at the Hyperloop Pod Award Ceremony |publisher=YouTube |date=30 January 2016 |access-date=2 February 2016 |archive-date=26 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026083851/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab2VVp1GfmA |url-status=live}}</ref>

From late 2012 until August 2013, a group of engineers from both [[Tesla Motors|Tesla]] and SpaceX worked on the modeling of Musk's Hyperloop concept.<ref name="gm20130813"/> An early system conceptual model was published on both the Tesla and SpaceX websites<ref name="Alpha SpaceX"/><ref name="Alpha Tesla" /> which describes one potential design, function, pathway, and cost of a hyperloop system.<ref name="Alpha SpaceX" /> In the alpha design, pods were envisioned to accelerate to cruising speeds gradually using [[Linear motor|linear electric motors]] and glide above their track on [[air bearing]]s through tubes above ground on columns or below ground in tunnels to avoid the challenges of [[grade crossing]]s. An ideal hyperloop system was estimated to be more energy-efficient,<ref name="EDS power consumption">{{cite journal |url=https://www.pes-publications.ee.ethz.ch/uploads/tx_ethpublications/22_Scaling_laws_for_electrodynamic_suspension_Flankl_accepted-version.pdf |title=Scaling laws for electrodynamic suspension in high-speed transportation |last1=Flankl |first1=Michael |last2=Weller dieck |first2=Tobias |last3=Tüysüz |first3=Arda |last4=Kolar |first4=Johann W. |journal=IET Electric Power Applications |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=357–364 |date=November 2017 |access-date=2 February 2018 |doi=10.1049/iet-epa.2017.0480 |archive-date=26 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012539/https://www.pes-publications.ee.ethz.ch/uploads/tx_ethpublications/22_Scaling_laws_for_electrodynamic_suspension_Flankl_accepted-version.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ESC Hyperloop">{{cite AV media |url=http://www.esc.ethz.ch/news/archive/2017/11/energy-efficiency-of-an-electrodynamically-levitated-hyperloop-pod.html |title=Energy Efficiency of an Electrodynamically Levitated Hyperloop Pod |publisher=Energy Science Center |date=29 November 2017 |access-date=2 February 2018 |archive-date=20 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120065425/https://esc.ethz.ch/news/archive/2017/11/energy-efficiency-of-an-electrodynamically-levitated-hyperloop-pod.html |url-status=live}}</ref> quiet, and [[vehicular automation|autonomous]] than existing modes of mass transit in the 2010s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kassebi |first1=Oussema |last2=Siegfried |first2=Patrick |title=The Hyperloop: The innovative logistic technology |journal=Journal of Road and Traffic Engineering |date=2022 |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=11–16 |doi=10.31075/PIS.68.01.02 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The Hyperloop Alpha was released as an [[Open-source model|open source]] design. Musk invited feedback to "see if the people can find ways to improve it".<ref name="globemail20130812"/> The trademark "''HYPERLOOP''", applicable to "high-speed transportation of goods in tubes" was issued to SpaceX on 4 April 2017.<ref>{{cite web| title=Word Mark HYPERLOOP|url=http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4810:6uwa73.2.7|publisher=U.S. Patent and Trademark Office| access-date=10 September 2017|archive-date=21 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721205854/https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4810:6uwa73.2.7|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=May 2025|reason=USPTO search does not show SpaceX ever owning the trademark.}}<ref>{{cite news|last1=Muoio|first1=Danielle| title=Everything we know about Elon Musk's ambitious Hyperloop plan|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-hyperloop-plan-boring-company-2017-8|access-date=26 May 2025|publisher=Business Insider |date=17 August 2017|archive-date=19 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019025704/https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-hyperloop-plan-boring-company-2017-8|url-status=live}}</ref>