THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE HYPERLOOP

ARYAN SHAH(Y11, CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, DUBAI)

Edward Teller, the ‘father of the hydrogen bomb’, once said that “the science of today is the
technology of tomorrow”. This quote was inevitably proven true in 2012 when Elon Musk first
conceptualized a faster and more efficient mode of transportation that would help the world
transcend into an era governed by technological advances. This is the Hyperloop.
The Hyperloop is a proposed high-speed transportation system in which specialized pods are
accelerated through a low-pressure tube to achieve speeds near the speed of sound. The system
is intended to provide a more cost-effective and faster mode of travel between cities separated
by distances less than approximately nine hundred miles. Musk has described the Hyperloop
operation as a cross between the Concorde supersonic jets and a rail- gun (which can accelerate
projectiles to supersonic speeds rapidly using the principles of electrodynamics). In his original
proposal, Musk suggested that a Los Angeles - San Francisco route which could be traversed in
about 35 minutes, in comparison with over five hours by car or over an hour by plane.

The Hyperloop itself may seem to portray itself as something similar to the small vacuum tubes
that are commonly found at banks and retail stores. These are often used to move money
quickly in sealed containers. These pneumatic tubes work using simple principles: a tube links
the sending and receiving stations. The air compressor pump at the receiving station can suck or
blow air. When it sucks, it pulls canisters along the tube toward it; when it blows, it pushes the
canisters in the opposite direction. Now the concept of the Hyperloop builds upon this idea and
deems to make the tubes and capsules much larger to carry passengers and maybe even other
vehicles. In specific, The Hyperloop requires three fundamental physics concepts to overcome to
be successful. These are air resistance, propulsion and frictional force.

Large friction force due to air resistance is a massive barrier per high-speed travel. One obvious
solution is that pods could be propelled in a vacuum tube. However, the vacuum pumps
required to achieve this would be extremely costly and any equipment malfunction could be
devastating to Hyperloop operation. To address this problem, it is instead proposed that the
Hyperloop tube operates at very low pressure: 100 Pascal, about 1/6 the pressure of the
atmosphere of Mars. This pressure is one thousand times less than atmospheric pressure at sea
level and as a result, air resistance is drastically decreased. After initial acceleration, Hyperloop
pods can therefore mostly glide without applying any thrust until the deceleration at the end of
the journey. How the Hyperloop will combat frictional force is like that of a hovercraft. It will
force air underneath the Hyperloop pod, floating on it similar to that of an air hockey puck. This
will allow it to eliminate the need for rails, which would have resulted in a significant loss of

REFERENCES—
1) https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/13/here-is-how-hyperloop-will-work-
theoretically.html
2) https://www.wired.com/story/guide-hyperloop/
3) https://www.dropbox.com/s/mm0s8yxi3x6u7m2/Hyperloop%20Report%5B704%
5D%202.0.pdf?dl=0
4) https://brilliant.org/wiki/hyperloop/
5) https://abc7news.com/technology/what-exactly-is-a-hyperloop/3864372/
6) https://www.explainthatstuff.com/pneumatic-tube-transport.html
7) https://etrusci.nl/02-19_vacuum-compressor-using-method/
8) https://manchesterstudentsunion.com/groups/hyperloop-manchester
9) https://hyperloop-one.com/facts-frequently-asked-questions
energy, limiting the speed of the pods. In addition to this, an electric air compressor fan on the
front of the pod will transfer high air pressure from its front to the rear and sides of the vessel.
This will reduce friction in front of the pod, help propel it and create an air cushion around it so
that the pod is suspended in the air within the tube.

Today, most Hyperloop engineers have decided instead to rely on passive magnetic levitation as
a method of propulsion. Where standard maglev systems are power-hungry and expensive, this
system uses an array of permanent magnets on the vehicle. When those magnets move over
conductive arrays in the track, they create a magnetic field that pushes the pod up, no current
required. A complementary magnet system (think of two magnets pushing off one another)
would give the pods a push every few miles or so—the near-total lack of friction and air
resistance means you don’t need a constant propulsion system. In addition to this, the pod will
be battery-powered and propelled by an external linear electric motor — an electric induction
motor that produces motion in a straight line rather than rotational motion — similar to those
used in the Tesla Model S. A linear electric motor is essentially a straightened-out version of a
conventional rotary motor. A conventional electric motor has two primary parts: a stator (the
part that stays still) and a rotor (the part that moves or rotates). When voltage is applied to the
stator it makes the rotor spin and does the work of, say, spinning a power drill. A proprietary
linear electric motor has the same two main parts; however, the rotor doesn’t rotate but
instead moves in a straight line along the length of the stator. In the Hyperloop One system, the
stators are mounted to the tube, the rotor is mounted to the pod, and the pod straddles the
stators as it accelerates down the tube. This motor would propel the pod to subsonic velocity,
which is essentially 343.2 m/s, or just below the speed of sound.

Versions of the Hyperloop, such as the Hyperloop One (created by the Virgin One Group) are
propelled using a linear electric motor and are capable of travelling 670 miles to 1080
kilometres per hour (depending on the weight of the goods being transported). This is 2-3 times
faster than high-speed rail and magnetic levitation trains, and 10-15 times faster than traditional
rail.

In conclusion, the Hyperloop would be a revolutionary step forward, in accordance with the
already existing transportation methods. The hypothetical benefits of the Hyperloop are
immunity to weather, lack of crashes, rapid speed, low power requirements, and energy
generation for its operation. These advantages far overweigh the short-lived economic downfall
that may be resulted. Thus, any attempts made to further its progress should not be quashed
but encouraged. Let’s hope to make the words of Edward Teller a massive success, via the
creation of the Hyperloop.

REFERENCES—
1) https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/13/here-is-how-hyperloop-will-work-
theoretically.html
2) https://www.wired.com/story/guide-hyperloop/
3) https://www.dropbox.com/s/mm0s8yxi3x6u7m2/Hyperloop%20Report%5B704%
5D%202.0.pdf?dl=0
4) https://brilliant.org/wiki/hyperloop/
5) https://abc7news.com/technology/what-exactly-is-a-hyperloop/3864372/
6) https://www.explainthatstuff.com/pneumatic-tube-transport.html
7) https://etrusci.nl/02-19_vacuum-compressor-using-method/
8) https://manchesterstudentsunion.com/groups/hyperloop-manchester
9) https://hyperloop-one.com/facts-frequently-asked-questions
REFERENCES—
1) https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/13/here-is-how-hyperloop-will-work-
theoretically.html
2) https://www.wired.com/story/guide-hyperloop/
3) https://www.dropbox.com/s/mm0s8yxi3x6u7m2/Hyperloop%20Report%5B704%
5D%202.0.pdf?dl=0
4) https://brilliant.org/wiki/hyperloop/
5) https://abc7news.com/technology/what-exactly-is-a-hyperloop/3864372/
6) https://www.explainthatstuff.com/pneumatic-tube-transport.html
7) https://etrusci.nl/02-19_vacuum-compressor-using-method/
8) https://manchesterstudentsunion.com/groups/hyperloop-manchester
9) https://hyperloop-one.com/facts-frequently-asked-questions