The Future of the Futuristic Hyperloop

Hyperloop would allow speeds reducing a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco from hours to about 30 minutes.

Following a recent visit to Elon Musk's Tesla electric car factory in California, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed interest in a less mature but potentially more groundbreaking idea: Hyperloop. Musk, the founder of companies such as SpaceX and Tesla, released an open-source proposal for the new mode of transportation in 2013.

At the core of Hyperloop's futuristic concept is the ability to minimize physical constraints, including friction and air resistance, that reduce speed and increase the energy input required to move people and things across distances. Instead of running on wheels, the theoretical Hyperloop pod would float (using either air or magnets) in a tube depressurized to near vacuum conditions, mimicking the minimal air resistance normally experienced at high altitudes.

The envisaged system significantly reduces the amount of energy needed to propel the vessel forward.