By Aaron Jiang ‘23
Humans have come a long way ever since our species birth. We are not like Superman, who can lift a whole building or defend ourselves. We are not like The Flash, who can run to destinations in no time. However, we humans do have a super power, and that is imagination and innovation.
Our technology has come a long way ever since the dawn of humanity. We went from traveling on foot to riding on horseback, riding a horse to driving a car, and, ultimately, we just sit on an airplane and we can arrive at our destination in no time. Today, I present to you a new way of traveling for humanity: the Hyperloop.
Hyperloop is a new transportation idea proposed by Elon Musk back in 2012, and the design was released by a joint team from SpaceX and Tesla. This transportation can achieve a speed up to an unimaginable 600 miles per hour! For instance, it will take less than one hour to travel from New York City to Boston. Amazing, right? Moreover, if you are currently attending wedding in City A, you can potentially be in City B for another event all in one hour. Now realistically, you might ask, “What technology will SpaceX and Tesla use to achieve this milestone?”
Well, let all first understand what this thing looks like. Just like how The New York Times reported, you will be traveling inside a: “small wheel-less pods in a vacuum tube at speeds that could exceed 600 miles per hour.” Now, that sounds like a lot of fun in itself already. Apart from this, Musk himself putted, “It’s like a tube with an air hockey table, it’s just a low pressure tube, with a pod in it that runs on air bearings, on air skis. With an air compressor on the front that is taking the high pressure air built on the nose and pumping it through the air skis.” Alright, awesome! However, perhaps the most important question right now is when can this idea come to reality?
To answer that, one of the leading companies on this Hyperloop project, Virgin Hyperloop One, has already raised $295 million dollars. Their job is to keep running tests and improve everything gradually down the road. In addition, CNN added, “The year is 2030…You’re in…sleek pod-like capsule…levitating inside…tube…accelerating…more than 600 miles per hour.” Surprisingly, this Sci-Fi like dream is not too far fetch at all. Actually, Musk said that the Hyperloop is one of the easier projects that he had in mind.
To sum it all up, those of you who are still in high school as of this article’s published date will expect to see Hyperloop as one of your daily ideal transportation method in your early adulthood.
The Salesian Spectator 