Reaching from one place to another without delay has always been a dream for us. Specially in India, where 23 million passengers (which is equivalent to the entire population of Australia) daily travel by trains (Acc. To Business Standard in 2015). I will tell you the condition of Indian Railways with the help of an incident.
My friend’s sister's wedding was in Kanpur couple of years ago. His relative, who came from Mumbai, wanted to see Taj Mahal. After enquiring he came to know that it takes around 5-6 hours to reach Agra from Kanpur by train. He thought that if he took a train around 8-9 a.m., he would reach Agra around 3-4 p.m. max and would come back to Kanpur the next day in the midnight, after taking a train around 8-9p.m. But, the irony was that he didn’t know which trains were good or bad in terms of being delayed. And unfortunately he took Toofan Express, which is usually delayed around 5-6 hours daily. It took him around 12 hours to reach Agra and since he had nowhere to stay, hence he had to spent the entire night sleeping in the general waiting room. So, will our dream ever become a reality?
In July 2019, Indian government gave the final nod for the construction of Hyperloop train built by Virgin Hyperloop One, between Mumbai and Pune. Billed as the fastest way to cross the surface of the earth, Hyperloop represents the greatest leap in transport infrastructure for generations. With passengers sitting in pods that travel at airline speed through pressurised tubes using electric propulsion and magnetic levitation, the concept promises to slash journey times between major cities from several hours to a matter of minutes.
Hyperloop was first conceived in 2012 by Tesla and SpaceX founder, Elon Musk. In a white paper released the following year, Musk set out his vision for a futuristic, super high-speed transportation system that would see passenger pods move through a partial vacuum in steel tubes - addressing the two key factors that slow down conventional vehicles: friction and air resistance. It has four key features-
1- The passenger capsules aren't propelled by air pressure like in vacuum tubes but by electromagnetic motors similar to once featured in Tesla cars and rail guns it's aimed to travel at a top speed of 760 miles per hour rocketing between Los Angeles and San Francisco and around ½ hour.
2- The tube tracks do have a vacuum but they're not completely free of air instead they have low pressure air inside of them most things moving through air tubes will end up compressing the air in front thus creating a cushion of air that slows the object down but the Hyperloop will feature a compressor fan in the front of the capsule the compressor fan can redirect air to the back of the capsule for additional propulsion.
3- But mostly the air will be sent to the air bearings their ski like paddles that levitate the capsules above the surface of the tube to reduce friction.
4- The tube track is designed to be immune to weather and Earthquakes. It's also designed to be self-powering and unobstructed. The pillars raising the tubes above the ground have a small footprint and can sway in the case of an Earthquake. Each of the tube sections can move around flexibly if the terrain ships because there isn't a constant track that the capsules rely on and solar panels on the top of the track supply power to the periodic motors.
The advantages of Hyperloop are considerable. Like train stations, Hyperloop stations, called portals, are planned to be located within inner city areas with easy links to existing transport infrastructure. This gives hyperloop systems a distinct advantage over air travel, where airports tend to be located beyond city limits with fewer accessibility options.
Another clear benefit is its speed. If hyperloop could significantly reduce the travel time between cities, it could be possible to live in a completely different city or part of
the country from where you work. This opens up a wide range of housing and employment opportunities with people no longer restricted to have living close to where they work.
With speeds rivalling aircrafts, Hyperloop has the potential to completely revolutionise the way we live, work and travel.
My friend’s sister's wedding was in Kanpur couple of years ago. His relative, who came from Mumbai, wanted to see Taj Mahal. After enquiring he came to know that it takes around 5-6 hours to reach Agra from Kanpur by train. He thought that if he took a train around 8-9 a.m., he would reach Agra around 3-4 p.m. max and would come back to Kanpur the next day in the midnight, after taking a train around 8-9p.m. But, the irony was that he didn’t know which trains were good or bad in terms of being delayed. And unfortunately he took Toofan Express, which is usually delayed around 5-6 hours daily. It took him around 12 hours to reach Agra and since he had nowhere to stay, hence he had to spent the entire night sleeping in the general waiting room. So, will our dream ever become a reality?
In July 2019, Indian government gave the final nod for the construction of Hyperloop train built by Virgin Hyperloop One, between Mumbai and Pune. Billed as the fastest way to cross the surface of the earth, Hyperloop represents the greatest leap in transport infrastructure for generations. With passengers sitting in pods that travel at airline speed through pressurised tubes using electric propulsion and magnetic levitation, the concept promises to slash journey times between major cities from several hours to a matter of minutes.
Hyperloop was first conceived in 2012 by Tesla and SpaceX founder, Elon Musk. In a white paper released the following year, Musk set out his vision for a futuristic, super high-speed transportation system that would see passenger pods move through a partial vacuum in steel tubes - addressing the two key factors that slow down conventional vehicles: friction and air resistance. It has four key features-
1- The passenger capsules aren't propelled by air pressure like in vacuum tubes but by electromagnetic motors similar to once featured in Tesla cars and rail guns it's aimed to travel at a top speed of 760 miles per hour rocketing between Los Angeles and San Francisco and around ½ hour.
2- The tube tracks do have a vacuum but they're not completely free of air instead they have low pressure air inside of them most things moving through air tubes will end up compressing the air in front thus creating a cushion of air that slows the object down but the Hyperloop will feature a compressor fan in the front of the capsule the compressor fan can redirect air to the back of the capsule for additional propulsion.
3- But mostly the air will be sent to the air bearings their ski like paddles that levitate the capsules above the surface of the tube to reduce friction.
4- The tube track is designed to be immune to weather and Earthquakes. It's also designed to be self-powering and unobstructed. The pillars raising the tubes above the ground have a small footprint and can sway in the case of an Earthquake. Each of the tube sections can move around flexibly if the terrain ships because there isn't a constant track that the capsules rely on and solar panels on the top of the track supply power to the periodic motors.
The advantages of Hyperloop are considerable. Like train stations, Hyperloop stations, called portals, are planned to be located within inner city areas with easy links to existing transport infrastructure. This gives hyperloop systems a distinct advantage over air travel, where airports tend to be located beyond city limits with fewer accessibility options.
Another clear benefit is its speed. If hyperloop could significantly reduce the travel time between cities, it could be possible to live in a completely different city or part of
the country from where you work. This opens up a wide range of housing and employment opportunities with people no longer restricted to have living close to where they work.
With speeds rivalling aircrafts, Hyperloop has the potential to completely revolutionise the way we live, work and travel.
Can human body sustain the pressure generated due to extreme acceleration of the capsule
ReplyDeleteAs long as the human body is inside the capsule it will face no such extreme pressure as the air inside the tube is very less hence very less pressure approx. about 1/1000 of atmosphere.
DeleteWho invented the first thermometer?
ReplyDelete#good_to_go