Elon Musk unveils 'Hyperloop' transport concept

           
Imagine strapping into a car-sized capsule and hurtling through a tube at more than 700 mph (1,126 kph) not for the thrill of it, but to get where you need to go.       

On Monday, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled a transportation concept that he said could whisk passengers the nearly 400 miles (643 kilometers) between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 30 minutes half the time it takes an airplane.                       

His "Hyperloop" system for travel between major cities is akin to the pneumatic tubes that transport capsules stuffed with paperwork in older buildings.                   

In this case, the cargo would be people, reclining for a ride that would start with a force of acceleration like an airplane but then be turbulence free.                        

Capsules would catapult through a large, nearly air-free tube. Inside, they would be pulled down the line by magnetic attraction.                               

Each capsule would float on a cushion of air it creates like an air hockey table in which the puck produces the air instead of the surface. To minimize friction, a powerful fan at the front would suck what air is in the tube to the rear.                              

Indeed, the Hyperloop was inspired by that rail system, which has a cost too high and speed too low to justify the project, Musk said.                           

In a written statement, California High-Speed Rail Authority Chairman Dan Richard suggested that Musk was oversimplifying the challenges.                                

Like the bullet train, the Hyperloop didn't take long to attract skepticism.                         

Musk had framed his concept as a fifth way an alternative to cars, planes, trains and boats. Citing barriers such as cost and the mountains that rim the Central Valley, one transportation expert called Musk's idea novel, but not a breakthrough.                           

"I don't think it will provide the alternative that he's looking for," said James E. Moore II, director of the transportation engineering program at the University of Southern California.                     

Monday's unveiling lived up to the hype part of its name.                         

Musk has been dropping hints about his system for more than a year during public events, mentioning that it could never crash and would be immune to weather.


AP