As you surely know, despite the fact that the technology behind Hyperloop is perhaps too green, the truth is that many companies are working on its development and on being the first to create what many have called the most fast on the face of the Earth. Although the objectives set have not yet been achieved, the truth is that the company Virgin Hyperloop One has managed to break all current speed records for a hyperloop capsule.
To achieve this feat, those responsible for Virgin Hyperloop One decided to test their theories using the track devloopel, located right in a desert outside the city of Las Vegas (Nevada). During these tests, they only consisted of launching a capsule about eight and a half meters long through a tube half a kilometer long with almost no air, the company managed to achieve a negligible range of its system. 386 km/h.
The Virgin Hyperloop One capsule manages to reach 386 km / h a few seconds after starting the test
As has been revealed, these tests more than to test the aerodynamic resistance of the capsule itself, what they sought was to test the reliability of a new technology of airlocks installed in the tube itself. Thanks to this and according to what has been published, apparently the capsule developed by Virgin Hyperloop One managed to reach its maximum speed of 386 km / h within seconds of being launched.
To reach such speeds, as has been proven, the hyperloop needs to travel in a environment that is practically emptyIn other words, an environment without air and without any type of resistance or friction so that the capsule does not slow down and can move along the tube at speeds similar to those of an airplane. In this way, the airlock will be a key factor for the pods of transporting passengers or cargo between different atmospheric states.
The real challenge will be to maintain the vacuum inside a tube hundreds of kilometers long
In the words of those responsible for the project that the company is carrying out Virgin Hyperloop One:
All system components were successfully tested, including the air chamber, high-efficiency electric motor, advanced and electronic power controls, custom magnetic levitation and orientation, capsule suspension, and vacuum. The tests were conducted in a tube depressurized to the equivalent air pressure experienced at 200,000 feet above sea level. A Virgin Hyperloop One capsule quickly lifts itself off the runway using magnetic levitation and glides at airline speeds for long distances due to ultra-low drag.
The ability to maintain a vacuum in the tube, especially one hundreds of miles long, is one of the toughest challenges facing the hyperloop. Every time a pod arrives at a station, it has to slow down and stop. Then the air chamber will have to be closed, pressurized, and reopened. Then the capsule must clear the air chamber before the next capsule arrives. The speed at which this occurs will determine the distance between the pods.
Richard Branson is once again the visible head of the project
To put all this in perspective, it should be noted that the old record of the company was at 194 km / h, so we are facing quite a significant advance although still very far from the real objective of this project reach 1.200 km / h outside of a development environment, that is, in a real tunnel and with passengers inside each of its capsules.
Finally, it should be noted that the Virgin Hyperloop One project finally regains momentum thanks to Richard Branson it is once again its visible head and, above all, that it has achieved raise 50 million dollars to finance it.