In 2013, Elon Musk let the world know he had an idea: let's transport people in tubes at 760 miles an hour. (For the non-scientists out there, that's just shy of the speed of sound.) His theory was that a combination of vacuum tubes and magnets would create an environment of minimal air resistance and friction, allowing people-moving pods to reach such crazy speeds. If achieved, this technology could turn a six-hour journey from L.A. to San Francisco into a 30-minute commute.
Today in the desert outside of Las Vegas, startup company Hyperloop One Inc. is taking the first step toward making Musk's idea a reality. The company will launch a pod in a full-scale section of tube, hoping for it to reach 300 mph.
Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd told Gizmodo, “We’ve tested levitation technologies, we’ve tested the aerodynamics in those low-pressure environments, we’ve tested the tube ... So we’ve done testing of all the systems but only can demonstrate this if we build it at full-scale.”
Check back here to see how the test goes. And if the high-speed barf bags are fully functioning.
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