Hyperloop One, one of the private companies bringing to life the out-there concept for a completely new form of transportation now known as the hyperloop, recently completed its inaugural test run for its proprietary system by sending a transportation pod flying down a concrete tube at 192 miles per hour. The test run went off without a hitch at Hyperloop One’s test track in the Nevada desert, and simultaneously garnered mad style points for looking very much like the classic Disney ride, Space Mountain.
Finally, we’re all going to be living in Tomorrowland! Hopefully without all the lines and pricey sodas.
Hyperloop One’s achievement, which comes via Gizmodo (and is available for your viewing pleasure in the clip above), stands as a proof-of-concept for its take on the mode of transportation that was theorized by American engineer and physicist Robert Goddard in 1909. And yes, that means that while Elon Musk may have brought it back into the limelight in 2013 with his own conceptual take on the unique form of transportation, the idea of propelling a pod at high-speeds down a depressurized tube has been in the design ether for quite some time.
This inaugural test was technically “Phase 2” of Hyperloop One’s initial testing and advanced the achievements of the first phase, which took place in May of this year. This time around, the first-generation pod reached a top speed of 192 miles per hour, covered a distance of 1,433 feet, and utilized an electromagnetic powertrain that developed 3,151 horsepower. For reference, the pod in the first test topped out at 69 miles per hour, traveled 315 feet, and developed 891 horsepower.
The pod is able to travel at such high speeds utilizing an electric drivetrain—which is explained in more detail in the video above—by sucking out a huge amount of the air inside of the tube. This effectively means that the pod faces very little air resistance, as it encounters an atmospheric density roughly equivalent to what a craft would experience at about 200,000 feet above sea level.
The ultimate goal for Hyperloop One’s take on the zippy tube (we’d still like that to be the nickname for this thing) is to have the transportation pod travel at insanely fast speeds between cities that are around a hundred or more miles apart. There’s been word of linking Abu Dhabi and Dubai, for example, which are 90 miles apart. Hyperloop One’s ‘loop could theoretically make that trip in 12 minutes. Going 500 miles per hour.
Aside from some insanely fast travel times, what’s most important here, clearly, is the fact that Hyperloop One’s tunnel looks exactly like Space Mountain. It’s just too bad nobody aboard the pod can see the Space Mountain-ish visuals as the pod has no windows.
Space Mountain ride at Disney’s Tomorrowland. Image: YouTube / TheCoasterViews
As far as the Musk man himself, according to a recent tweet, he has in own plans for the hyperloop in store.
SpaceX student Hyperloop top speed competition coming up soon! https://t.co/R7FAPf6HLB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 2, 2017
What do you think about Hyperloop One’s take on the hyperloop? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Images: YouTube / Hyperloop One
