Inside Musk's Hyperloop

INSIDE MUSK'S HYPERLOOP The 5th Form of Transportation? ELON MUSK, visionary engineer and entrepreneur, says his soon-to-debut Hyperloop design will revolutionize transportation as we know it. MUSK says the Hyperloop will appear in Alpha design by Aug. 12th 2013 HYPERLOOP WILL: Travel at twice the speed of commercial aircraft Be immune to weather Likely be solar powered Never crash SAN FRANCISCO LOS ANGELES Travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 MINUTES Be a "cross between a Concorde, a railgun and an air hockey table" Be published as open source license Likely generate more power than it consumes Not run in a vacuum tunnel Cost one-tenth of CA's currently proposed $70 billion dollar high-speed rail Join cars, boats, trains, and planes as the 5th form of modern transport Feature passenger pods measuring approx. 2 meters in diameter POTENTIAL DESIGN? Though Musk has been tight-lipped about his design, he called this model, posted on Twitter by John Gardi, "the closest l've seen anyone guess so far." DECELERATE ACCELERATE STOP 600 MPH+ / 900 KPH+ STOP ACCELERATE DECELERATE Hyperloop Concept by John Gardi @John Gardi HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS THE SYSTEM THEY DESCRIBE... In 1972, the Rand Corporation published a study, which outlined a proposal for a - Connects with subways and other public transit, featuring about a dozen stops nationwide in the US Very High Speed Transit system (VHST) - Runs in underground vacuum tunnels, powered by electromagnetic waves NEW YORK Relies upon 1 million amperes of current. LOS ANGELES -Travels at maximum speeds of 14000 mph, crossing from LA to NY in just 21 minutes (or 37 min including stops in Texas & Chicago) from LA to NY in 21 minutes - Accelerates and decelerates at 1 G -Would make an estimated 290,000 cross country trips daily, and 106 million annually VHST was plausible 4 decades ago: "The technology is presently available" - With LA-NY tickets priced at $50, would generate $90 billion within 30 years (by conservative estimates) TRANSPORTATION TODAY Shanghai's Maglev Train (The world's fastest) Japan's Shinkansen Bullet Trains Max speed: 311 mph (501 km/h) Max speed: 199 mph (320 km/h) Average speed: Approx. 260 mph (431 km/h) Average speed: 185 mph (300 km/h) Track distance: 18.75 miles (30 km) Track distance: 1400 miles (2250 km) Average Travel Time: 8 minutes Average Travel Time: 7hrs (Tokyo-Nagasaki, 1328 km) One-way ticket cost: Approx. $7 USD One-way ticket cost: $294 USD (Tokyo-Nagasaki) Japan's LO Bullet Trains (Due to open 2027) Commercial Airlines Max speed: 1,350 mph (2,172 km/h) (Concorde Jet, 2003) Max speed: TBD Average speed: 575 mph (926 km/h) Average speed: 310 mph (500 km/h) Average Travel Time: 1hr 15 min (LA to SF) Track distance: 218 miles (351 km) Average Travel Time: 40 minutes One-way ticket cost: $65-150 (LA to SF) CA's Proposed 'High-Speed' Rail (LA-SF) Hyperloop's Potential (LA-SF) Max speed: TBD CALIFORNIA 600 mph (965 km/h) Average speed: To put that in perspective, the speed of sound = 761.2 mph (1,225 km/h) Track distance: 380 miles (613 km) Average speed: 133 mph (204 km/h) Average Travel Time: 30 min Track distance: 380 miles (613 km) Average Travel Time: 2.5-4 hrs Estimated Cost of Construction: $7 billion Expected One-way ticket cost: $80-125 Estimated Cost of Construction: $68 Billion USD Assuming $50 one-way fares and 114 million annual passengers (equal to each CA resident riding 3x annually), Hyperloop would generate $90+ billion within 30 years. EXPECTED ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS It would be the cleanest motorized public transport Significant reduction in CA's motor Reduced oil dependence Potential source of vehicle and commercial air traffic renewable energy (CA = 2nd worst carbon emitting ever devised state in the US) Represents major breakthrough in By replacing the planned high-speed rail, Hyperloop will: energy-efficient travel • Decrease risks to passengers & pedestrians • Decrease noise pollution OBSTACLES Passengers can only withstand about 1/10th a G of lateral force, meaning the Hyperloop's turning THIS MEANS THE HYPERLOOP'S ROUTE FROM DOWNTOWN LA TO DOWNTOWN SF radius must be at least 40 miles. MUST BE NEARLY A STRAIGHT LINE. Inevitably running through numerous populated cities, it must be constructed on platforms high above ground, in tunnels underground, or some combination of both. SAN FRANCISCO 558km The high cost of tunneling poses an enormous challenge The high cost, logistics, and environmental/aesthetic impacts of building above ground pose serious challenges. LOS ANGELES California's daunting bureaucratic redtape means municipal approvals and environmental clearances will likely a decade or more to obtain. WHAT ABOUT ET3? ET ET3 is an "open consortium of licensees dedicated to global implementation of Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT)" ET3 has outlined plans to build frictionless maglev vacuum tubes, 1.5m in diameter, Musk says ET3's plans are on to transport passenger capsules at the right track, but missing extremely high speeds important design features П - Max Speed (long distances): 6500km/h (4000 mph) distances): 600km/h (370 mph) Their ETT system promises... - Avg. Speed - Travel time (NY-Beijing): 2 hrs Construction costs of 1/10th high speed rail and 4 interstate highways - To debut as a 3-mile prototype within 2 years - Be constructed above ground on raised platforms, somewhat resembling telephone poles - Charge passengers less than a penny per mile WHY BELIEVE THE HYPE? Apart from the fact that the fictional Iron Man, Tony Stark, is partially modeled after Elon Musk, his previous accomplishments include... Being co-founder, chair, and CEO of PayPal - Being co-founder, CEO, and Head of Product Design at Tesla Motors - Being founder and Chief Designer at Space Exploration Technologies (aka SpaceX), the 1st private company to launch and dock a rocket with the International Space Station - Serving as non-executive chair of SolarCity -Sitting on the boards of... • The Space Foundation • The National Academies Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board • The Planetary Society - Being a member of the Stanford University Engineering Advisory Council Holding a bachelors of physics from U Penn - Holding a business degree from Wharton Resource list http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/papers/2008/P4874.pdf http://online.barons.com/article/SB50001424052748 7040934045 78607831352770660.htmi #article Tabs arti http://alithingsd.com/20130715/elon-musk-to-unveil-plans-for-hyperloop-really-rapid-transit-systen-next-mo cle%301 nth-video/ http://reason.com/archives/2012/07/02/5-reasons-the-california-high-speed-rail http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/07/elon-musk-hyperloop/ http://www.bizjoumals.com/sanjose/news/2013/07/19/typerloop-dont-hold-your-breath.htmi?page=2 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/ja pan/10098065/Japan-tests-310mph-bullet-train.html http://www.bizjoumals.com/sanjose/news/2013/07/19/typerloop-dont-hold-your-breath.ntmi?page=all http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/18/4534476/how-will-elon-musks-hyperloop-work http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/elon-musk-to-reveal-fifth-form-of-transport-o http://shanghaichina.ca/viden/maglevtrain.html n-august-12-known-as-the-hyperloop-8709954.html http://www.livescience.com/37 195-japan-bullet-train-worlds-fastest-maglev-train.html http://www.livescience.com/37022-speed-of-sound-mach-1.html http://www.seat61.com/Japan.htm#.Ue7vsRbvy8U http://www.ted.com/speakers/elon_musk.html http://engineering.mit.edu/live/news/188-wty-hasnt-commercial-air-travel-gotten-any-faster gocompare.com