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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