The proposal to cut the two-hour journey from Abu Dhabi to Dubai down to a 12-minute, 200-kilometre tube ride gained fresh impetus when developer Hyperloop obtained an audience with top political leaders. We decided to dive in and find out what makes the technology special. It certainly is the first train without wheels. This challenges the assumption that these are fundamental to moving groups of people around on earth.
The tube idea is actually nothing new, although the method appears to be. In 1864, the London Pneumatic Dispatch Company sucked carriages bearing letters along a tunnel using fans powered by steam engines. Brave passengers paid sixpence each to experience the experiment.
The London Pneumatic Dispatch Company experiment failed because the bristles separating the coach from the inner tunnel leaked. The friction from the brushes and wheels also did not help. Hyperloop is getting around this by using induction motors. Moreover, it is operating in an under-pressurised environment to reduce wind resistance.
The Hyperloop method suspends the carriages approximately one millimeter off the ground on forced air cushions. The carriages have no motors. Instead, they obtain momentum from induction motors located along the tube. They are capable of accelerating and decelerating the vehicle. Since there is no rolling resistance and little air resistance, the carriages can glide for long distances once at speeds of up to 780 kilometers per hour. An onboard fan actively transfers high-pressure air from the front to the rear of the train.
Hyperloop Cheetah Pod: RichMacf: CC 4.0
The jury is still out in some quarters whether the fast-moving tube train fro Abu Dhabi to Dubai will take off. The thought of riding in a windowless capsule down a tunnel at a maximum 270 meters per second may deter some. The sideways forces on the bends would make it impossible to stand up and stretch, or even use the toilet. What would happen if the power went off, or something jammed? One could ask the same questions of air travel but time will tell.
Simulated Hyperloop Station: Hyperloop Image Library