The launch of the Hyperloop test represents a step forward for the transportation system
Hyperloop, a new form of mass transit that involves capsules navigating a magnetic field through pressurized tubes, has gained significant traction in the northern Netherlands, the company developing the technology said on Monday.
The test vehicle was zipped through a tube at the test site of the high-speed transportation system being developed by Elon Musk.
“So today, with the first successful test, we were able to navigate the vehicle, we also opened the navigation system and the navigation system,” said Marinus van der Meijs, director of technology and engineering at the hyperloop company Hardt, told the Associated Press late. last week before Monday’s official announcement.
The European Hyperloop Center’s 420-meter (460-yard) tube is made up of 34 separate sections that are typically 2½ meters (over eight feet) in diameter. A vacuum pump sucks in air to reduce internal pressure. That reduces drag and allows tablets to travel at higher speeds.
Hyperloop developers aim to have capsules running through the tubes at speeds of up to 700 kph (435 mph). Its backers say it’s more efficient than short-haul flights, high-speed rail and freight trucks, but it would involve huge infrastructure investments.
So far, in the limited space provided by the test center, the speed has been modest.
When the capsule is in place in the pipeline, “we launch it with an acceleration similar to that of a train, up to a speed of about 30 kph (18 mph), about 100 meters (more than 300 meters) into the pipeline. ,” added Van der Meijs.
Still, it’s a milestone that needed to be handled with care.
“The most difficult things we are doing now is to evaluate all these activities together. Levitation, propulsion, guided, all those functions that we can now do as an orchestra, make it work together,” said Roel van de Pas, commercial director of Hardt Hyperloop.
Musk first floated the idea more than a decade ago, suggesting it could transport passengers about 400 kilometers (645 miles) between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 30 minutes. Since then, groups around the world have been working to make this vision a reality.
“To bring the Hyperloop as a transportation system, we have a very complex puzzle that requires technology, that requires policy, that requires public and private cooperation, and that is what is needed the most,” said Van de Pas. “At Hardt, we are ready for passenger operations in 2030.”
Some analysts are skeptical. When the hyperloop test site opened in March, Robert Noland, a distinguished professor at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, told the Associated Press that building the necessary infrastructure is expensive, calling it “another example of policymakers chasing the opposite.”
In 2016, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, signed an agreement with Los Angeles-based Hyperloop One to study the feasibility of building a hyperloop line between the city and Abu Dhabi, the Emirati capital.
The announcement of the agreement took place atop the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, with the skyline of the city of the future serving as a backdrop and symbol of Dubai’s desire to be the first to rush into the future. .
But like many grandiose announcements in the city-state, the hyperloop vision has faded in recent years with no track being built. Hyperloop One closed in December.
-Aleksandar Furtula, Associated Press
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