Hyperloop

“How would you like a transportation system that never has crashes, is immune to weather, and goes 3 or 4 times faster than any operational or proposed bullet train with an average speed of twice what an aircraft would do?  You would go from downtown LA to downtown San Francisco in under 30 minutes.  And it would cost you much less than an air ticket or car, much less than any other mode of transport, because the fundamental energy cost is so much lower. And I think we could actually make it self-powering if you put solar panels on it, even generating more power than you would consume in the system. There's a way to store the power so it would run 24/7 without using batteries.  Yes, this is possible, absolutely.”

—Elon Musk, July 12, 2012

Hyperloop is a hypothetical mode of high-speed transportation proposed by entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk.  Musk has envisioned the system as a 'fifth mode' of transportation, an alternative to boats, planes, automobiles and trains.  The system would, according to Musk, be able to travel from downtown Los Angeles to downtown San Francisco in under 30 minutes, or 343 miles (552 km) at an average speed of more than 685 mph.

Musk first expressed that he was thinking about a concept for a "fifth mode of transport", calling it the Hyperloop, in July 2012 at a PandoDaily event in Santa Monica, California. He described a few characteristics of it including immunity to weather, that it "can never crash", an average speed of twice a typical jet aircraft, low power requirements, and that it could store energy for 24-hour operations.  Musk estimated the cost of the SF-LA Hyperloop would be about US$6 billion, one tenth as costly as the proposed high speed rail serving those cities. He has revealed that the Hyperloop is not the same as a vacuum tunnel.

Musk has likened the hyperloop to both a ground-based Concorde and a "cross between a Concorde and a railgun and an air hockey table", while noting that it has no need for rails.  He believes it could work either below or above ground.  Details of the system are still emerging, with Musk stating on his Twitter account that the "Hyperloop alpha" design will be published on August 12, 2013.

That’s tomorrow folks.

Inspired by "The Telegraph"