US billionaire reveals 'Hyperloop' plans
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 13, 2013
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Hyperloop passenger capsule version cutaway with passengers onboard Hyperloop Passenger. [Telsamotors.com] |
U.S. billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk Monday unveiled his plans of a transportation system that could take passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 30 minutes, half the time of a direct flight.
The Telsa chief executive refered to his plan as "Hyperloop", which is a low-cost, solar-powered, weather-immune and earthquake-resistant transportation system. The "Hyperloop" is estimated to cost US$6 billion and take 10 years to build, if it's ever built at all.
Musk's "Hyperloop" system consists of a capsule traveling between major cities in a large tube. Capsules float on air in the capsule and could travel at over 700 mph. Powerful fans will be used to push air at high speed through a tube and propel people-sized capsules all the way.
"By placing solar panels on top of the tube, the Hyperloop can generate far in excess of the energy needed to operate," Musk wrote in his proposal, posted online.
The whole system would be powered by solar panels installed onto the tubes.
"Short of figuring out real teleportation, which would of course be awesome (someone please do this), the only option for super fast travel is to build a tube over or under the ground that contains a special environment," Musk wrote.
According to Musk, the "Hyperloop" system would cost several billion dollars to build.
"Even several billion is a low number when compared with several tens of billion proposed for the track of the California rail project," he wrote.
Musk is also the founder of SpaceX, a space transport company that has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles.
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