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Thursday, March 8

GK: Understanding Hyperloop (S&T)


Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop One has signed an agreement with the Maharashtra government to build a Hyperloop that will cut the travel time between Mumbai and Pune to 25 minutes. A 10-km pilot path will be built from Pune’s Hinjewadi, but no more details are immediately available. 

However, Hyperloop is currently only a concept — and experts warn that the global hype around it must be taken with a healthy dose of cynicism.

The Vehicle: Hyperloop envisages pods or capsules travelling at high speeds through low-pressure tubes erected on columns or tunneled underground. The system is fully autonomous and sealed, so no driver-related error is anticipated. In a sealed environment with almost no air resistance, the pods are expected to reach very high speeds.

The Science: The vehicle uses magnetic levitation, and is propelled by a proprietary electric propulsion system. First open-air propulsion test was conducted in May 2016, first systems test in May 2017. Motion will not involve contact, so the vehicle will be virtually noiseless.

The Advantage: Besides being fast, Hyperloop is “energy-agnostic”, drawing from whichever source is available. If that’s solar or wind, the system will be carbon-free.

The Experience: Ride will be comparable to one in an elevator or plane, and acceleration and deceleration will be gradual, the company says. Mumbai-Pune is 150 km; 25-minute journey implies a pod will take about 6 minutes to accelerate to 1,000 km/h, and the same time to come to a halt. G forces will be as tolerable as in a Boeing 747 takeoff.

How noisy? Outside the tube as the pod goes by at more than 500 m/h: “just a big whoosh”.

How efficient? Can draw power from multiple energy sources; can be even 100% carbon free if the source is wind or solar.


Source:http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/its-not-a-train-its-not-a-plane-its-hyperloop-mumbai-pune-5071880/

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