7/30/2019 How the Hyperloop Would Work

1/4

How the Hyperloop would workThe Hyperloop would send travelers through low-pressure steel tubes in specialized pods thatzoom at high subsonic speeds, reaching about 760 mph (1,220 kilometers per hour). Thatcompares with typical speeds of 110 mph (for U.S. systems) to 300 mph (in China) for high-speed rail travel.

Musk's plan would rev up the pods from their stations using magnetic linear accelerators andonce they're in the main travel tubes, they'd be given periodic boosts by alinear inductionmotorbuilt into the tube and the pods. "The moving motor element (rotor) will be located on thevehicle for weight savings and power requirements, while the tube will incorporate the stationarymotor element (stator) which powers the vehicle," Musk wrote.

Elon Musk / SpaceX / Tesla MotorsAn illustration from Elon Musk's technical paper shows the proposed geometry for theHyperloop passenger capsule, housing several distinct systems within the outer mold line.

The pods would have electric compressor fans mounted on their noses to transfer high-pressureair from the front to the rear, getting around an aerodynamic limitation that would otherwisestymie near-supersonic travel in a tube. "We can make it work" with the current technology for

electric motors and batteries, as implemented in the Tesla Model S sedan, Musk said.

The journey would be nearly frictionless, thanks to a cushion of compressed air between the carsand the tube's inner surface. Musk said the system could be scaled up to hold three full-sizeautomobiles per pod, with passengers inside.

The whole system would be powered by solar panels installed onto the tubes. "By placing solarpanels on top of the tube, the Hyperloop can generate far in excess of the energy needed tooperate," Musk wrote.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20121123/NEWS10/121129929/110-mph-train-service-starts-on-part-of-chicago-st-louis-routehttp://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20121123/NEWS10/121129929/110-mph-train-service-starts-on-part-of-chicago-st-louis-routehttp://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20121123/NEWS10/121129929/110-mph-train-service-starts-on-part-of-chicago-st-louis-routehttp://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbcnews.com/45797387#45797387http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbcnews.com/45797387#45797387http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbcnews.com/45797387#45797387http://www.cnbc.com/id/100957288http://www.cnbc.com/id/100957288http://www.cnbc.com/id/100957288http://www.cnbc.com/id/100957288http://www.cnbc.com/id/100957288http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nbcnews.com/45797387#45797387http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20121123/NEWS10/121129929/110-mph-train-service-starts-on-part-of-chicago-st-louis-route

7/30/2019 How the Hyperloop Would Work

2/4

Elon Musk / Tesla Motors / SpaceXA cutaway view shows the Hyperloop passenger capsule in a transit tube, mounted on pylonswith solar arrays attached on top.

The tubes would be elevated on pylons, and generally follow Interstate 5 between San Franciscoand L.A. Musk said that would cut down on the cost of land acquisition and rights of way. Heestimated that the whole system would cost around $6 billion to build. "Even several billion is alow number when compared with several tens of billion proposed for the track of the Californiarail project," he wrote.

This combination of technologies is what led Musk to describe the Hyperloop last month as a"cross between a Concorde, a rail gun and an air hockey table." The hints that he dropped alongthe way sparked a flurry of speculation, about schemes ranging from"Jetsons"-like people-moverstounderground vacuum tunnels.

One of the closest guesses came from a self-described "tinker" named John Gardi, who laid out aplan for a turbine-driven pneumatic system. Gardi said Musk's system was even better."Beautiful, elegant, efficient!" Gardi wrote in aTwitter updateafter Monday's big reveal. "Theaerodynamic solution is brilliant, brings me to tears ... I can see why I missed it."

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/elon-musk-pondering-jetsons-people-mover-916486http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/elon-musk-pondering-jetsons-people-mover-916486http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/elon-musk-pondering-jetsons-people-mover-916486http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/elon-musk-pondering-jetsons-people-mover-916486http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-elon-musks-hyperloop-2013-5#ixzz2bK5Vukoqhttp://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-elon-musks-hyperloop-2013-5#ixzz2bK5Vukoqhttp://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-elon-musks-hyperloop-2013-5#ixzz2bK5Vukoqhttps://twitter.com/John_Gardi/status/367029470403629056https://twitter.com/John_Gardi/status/367029470403629056https://twitter.com/John_Gardi/status/367029470403629056https://twitter.com/John_Gardi/status/367029470403629056http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-elon-musks-hyperloop-2013-5#ixzz2bK5Vukoqhttp://www.nbcnews.com/technology/elon-musk-pondering-jetsons-people-mover-916486http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/elon-musk-pondering-jetsons-people-mover-916486

7/30/2019 How the Hyperloop Would Work

3/4

Elon Musk / Tesla Motors / SpaceXArtist's conceptions show off the aerodynamic look of Hyperloop pods.

Who'll build the Hyperloop?Musk has said he wouldn't be able to build the Hyperloop himself, due to his duties at SpaceXand Tesla. But he changed his tune slightly on Monday, during a news conference to discuss theidea. "I'm somewhat tempted to at least make a demonstration prototype," he told reporters. "I'vesort of come around a little bit on my thinking here, that maybe I should do the beginning bit,create a subscale version that's operating, and then hand it over to somebody else."

However, Musk cautioned that such a demonstration wouldn't be immediate, and that it wouldserve as a technological test bed rather than a practical transit system. He compared the project toarocket demonstrationon SpaceX's test range in Texas.

What do you think of the Hyperloop?

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/spacexs-grasshopper-reusable-rocket-makes-highest-leap-yet-6C10573570http://www.nbcnews.com/science/spacexs-grasshopper-reusable-rocket-makes-highest-leap-yet-6C10573570http://www.nbcnews.com/science/spacexs-grasshopper-reusable-rocket-makes-highest-leap-yet-6C10573570http://www.nbcnews.com/science/spacexs-grasshopper-reusable-rocket-makes-highest-leap-yet-6C10573570

7/30/2019 How the Hyperloop Would Work

4/4

17k votes

It makes sense: Make it so! It's unrealistic and/or affordable. Maybe it'd work, butwe should stick with high-speed rail.

View results

Musk estimated that it could take seven to 10 years to build a working Hyperloop between SanFrancisco and Los Angeles.

The Hyperloop could be held back by technical as well as political and economic issues.Transportation policy experts say that high-speed transit in the United States has been stymiednot so much by technological challenges as by the challenges of acquiring rights of way andgetting enough money to build the required infrastructure. Despite the hurdles, high-speed transitprojects are beginning to gain traction. California, for example, is continuing with itsnext-generation rail system, and other states are proceeding with their ownhigh-speed rail initiatives.

Musk said he thought the California project should be put on hold, considering that theconstruction cost could balloon well past the current $68 billion estimate, and is likely to resultin a rail system that's slower than taking an airplane. "That just doesn't seem wise for a state thatwas facing bankruptcy not that long ago," he said.

Emil Frankel, a former transportation official who is now a visiting scholar at theBipartisanPolicy Center, said he didn't know enough about Musk's freshly revealed concept to comment onits pluses and minuses. But he said anything that gave a boost to the debate over the future oftransportation was a good thing.

"I think that the best way for us to spend our money on infrastructure, given scarce resources, iswith incremental improvements, restoration of our existing systems and appropriate expansions,"he told NBC News. "The analyses that have been done suggest that these kinds of incrementalimprovements to the efficiency and reliability of our existing systems provide the best benefits."

Correction for 7:15 p.m. ET: At one point I had a wildly high figure for the number of peopleworking on the Hyperloop concept, based on something I misheard during Musk's newsconference. It's a little over a "dozen," not a "thousand."

Nikola Tesla

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52644940http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52644940http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52644940http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52644940http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/high-speed-rail-efforts-gain-momentum-across-country-1C6643651http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/high-speed-rail-efforts-gain-momentum-across-country-1C6643651http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/high-speed-rail-efforts-gain-momentum-across-country-1C6643651http://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/staff/emil-h-frankelhttp://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/staff/emil-h-frankelhttp://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/staff/emil-h-frankelhttp://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/staff/emil-h-frankelhttp://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/staff/emil-h-frankelhttp://bipartisanpolicy.org/about/staff/emil-h-frankelhttp://www.nbcnews.com/travel/high-speed-rail-efforts-gain-momentum-across-country-1C6643651http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52644940http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52644940