Oh, to reach a destination without spending long hours on the road in traffic. Now that’s a future people can get behind! Fast technology transportation may be closer to completion. Hyperloop technology claims that it could transport people and goods at speeds of up to 600 miles an hour. A company developing the technology has managed to move its employees through a test system:
Virgin Hyperloop became the first company to conduct a human test of the technology on Sunday at its 500-meter test track in the desert north of Las Vegas. The two volunteers, wearing casual street clothes, were whisked in a pod that was levitated by magnets inside a vacuum tube to 107 m.p.h. in 6.25 seconds.
The riders sat in molded seats covered in white vegan leather, housed inside the all-white carbon fiber-clad pod.
While the G-forces on the pod were three times that of an airplane, “it was much smoother than I expected,” said Sara Luchian, 37, one of the test riders and the company’s director of passenger experience. And unlike an airplane, there were no lateral forces that would have caused the pod to sway, she said.
“It felt not that much different than accelerating in a sports car,” said Josh Giegel, 35, the company co-founder and the other volunteer rider.
“This is a step of historical significance,” said Jay Walder, the company’s chief executive, pointing to 20 months of planning. “I don’t think you can overstate it. This is a moonshot moment. I have no doubt this will change the world.”
Image via the New York Times