The Hyperloop will soon begin to "slide" towards reality.
Jumpstartfund Transportation Technologies (HTT) announced on Monday morning that it has secured a new magnetic levitation system with which its new project, the Hyperloop, will move.
Specifically, it is a passive magnetic levitation system that was originally developed by Lawrence Livermore National Labs in California as part of the Inductrack system. HTT chose this system, as it stated, because it is now both a cheaper and safer system, compared to an active magnetic levitation system.
“Using a passive levitation system will eliminate the need for power plants along the Hyperloop path, making this system the most suitable for the application and will keep construction costs low,” said Bibop Gresta, COO of HTT.
The levitation system, which HTT chose, is the safest and least expensive of the other alternatives because levitation is a byproduct of the motion, rather than a separate, powered element. This means that if there is a loss of energy, the Hyperloop will slowly glide to a stop and continue to hover in the air until a very low speed.
While it's exciting that HTT has chosen levitation technology and announced yet another location for its Hyperloop, we're likely still at least a decade away from it going live, if not ever. So don't rush to cash out your airline miles just yet.
