After staying up all through the night with what we can only assume is his personal entourage of engineering superheroes, Elon Musk will provide a link to a more complete vision of his Hyperloop transportation system this afternoon.
Musk has been forthright about the double-edged sword that is the Hyperloop, having said in aTesla earnings call August 8 that he shot himself in the foot by claiming that the future of transportation could be cheaper, faster, and more energy efficient than high-speed rail if we could, with the help of magnets, shoot ourselves through a tube system at speeds upward of 700 mph.
But Musk is not deterred by the mad genius of his idea. He has admitted that he cannot build it himself -- his commitments to SpaceX and Telsa are too demanding -- but he is committed to revolutionizing high-speed ground transportation. He put the date at August 12 for a complete design, and it looks like Musk will indeed deliver. He hasn't stated exactly where he will post the link to his outline, but it can be assumed he will tweet about it again.
As for the Hyperloop's real-world potential, it turns out that it's not as crazy as it sounds. Sure, it was described as a mix between a supersonic jet, a railgun, and an air hockey table, but experts from all sides have been coming out in defense of its feasibility. One man -- a self-describedtinker named John Gardi -- even beat Musk to the table with a potential design. The Hyperloop could theoretically work if it were modified to a vacuum-in-a-tube concept, which would create zero drag and allow for a tremendous increase to current speeds.
It's also worth noting that a maglev system in Shanghai is one the world's fastest, sending trains at speeds up to 311 mph with a top operating speed of 268 mph. The world record, held byJapan's JR-Maglev MLX01 prototype, for maglev travel currently sits at 368 mph, but safe operational speeds are still under the 300 mph cap.
Tune in later today to see exactly how Musk plans to more than double that.
Update at 11:40 a.m. PT: Clarified differences between top operational and record-holding speeds of Japanese and Chinese maglev devices. Clarified vacuum-in-a-tube concept as not originating with Hyperloop. LINK
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