Hyperloop Technologies, one of the companies vying to build Elon Musk’s (other) vision of future transportation, is planning on building a test track in North Las Vegas. Here’s what the company thinks it will look like.
https://gizmodo.com/las-vegas-is-getting-a-hyperloop-test-track-1746911385
The track will be open to the air rather than in a tube, a big departure from the plans for a full-on Hyperloop, which would run in a tube mostly devoid of air. The purpose of the open-air test track is mostly to trial the systems used to accelerate the pod up to hundreds of miles an hour: in this case, it will be shooting a ‘test vehicle’ up to 300mph, in just half a mile of track, taking a grand total of two seconds. Presumably, there is a large pile of mattresses at the other end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGZKt8qFO08
It’s a long way from being the future of mass transport, but still: from white paper to high-speed electromagnetic catapult in two years is pretty darn good.
[YouTube]
