How does the Hyperloop work? Here’s where things get a little tricky, because the version of the Hyperloop that Musk has theorized may not necessarily be the version that is made into a reality. Musk’s idea utilizes low-pressure tubes through which trains are propelled through using compressed air and magnetic fields laid throughout the tube. The pods in which people are placed in literally float on air through the tube while using the frictionless electromagnetic levitation (maglev) system. The principle of maglev transportation is actually pretty simple (assuming you aren’t a member of the Insane Clown Posse): Large magnets on the train’s undercarriage are repelled by electromagnets that are laid throughout the tunnel. The electromagnets are magnetic only when an electric current flows through them, and the polarity of the magnets are constantly alternating as to push and pull the vehicle along the tube. Advertisement Maglev trains move considerably faster than friction-based alternatives like standard wheeled trains; it’s the technology that powers the super speed trains found in countries like Japan, which can travel at speeds as fast as 377 miles per hour. Who’s building the Hyperloop? Since Musk has essentially farmed out the task of making the Hyperloop, different groups are taking different approaches to the project and creating variants on the original idea. One of the companies tackling the task is Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), a group of part-time engineers located across the United States who recently announced the base technology that will power their take on the transport system. Advertisement HTT is set to utilize a passive magnetic levitation system. Originally developed by Dr. Richard Post at Lawrence Livermore National Labs, the technology has been licensed to be used to make its Hyperloop run. While the passive magnetic levitation system still places magnets on the underside of the passenger carriage, it sets them in an arrangement called a Halbach array, which focuses the magnetic field of a particular set of magnets on one side while countering the field on the other side. The system eliminates the need for the electric powered magnetic coils that Musk’s system calls for, eliminating the need for power stations along the Hyperloop track. According to HTT, it’s also safer than the maglev system because there is no risk of power outage or failure. How fast will it go? The bar that seems to be set for the Hyperloop project is to shorten the trip from San Fransisco to Los Angeles to just 30 minutes. Driving the nearly 400 mile trip takes about six hours. Shrinking that distance down to just a half-hour of travel would require speeds of around 600 mph, with top speeds closer to 760 mph. Advertisement It’s not quite the 14,000 miles per hour that Salter’s original VHST system called for, but Hyperloop operators also won’t have to peel human pancakes off the walls of the vehicles this way, either. How much will it cost? A lot. Musk’s impetus for chasing his tube transportation dream is the fact that he believes California is spending an inordinate amount on an insufficient system, but the Hyperloop isn’t exactly a cheap solution, either. The paper Musk published on the alpha version of the Hyperloop suggests that it will cost $6 billion, including a surprisingly small $1 billion for land rights, and will generate income by charging $20 a pop for each trip. Advertisement Economists think that estimate is generous at best. According to Michael L. Anderson, an associate professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Berkeley, the proposal looks to cost closer to $100 billion—an even higher projection than is planned to be spent on California’s high-speed train system—and wouldn’t achieve the value necessary to justify its existence at the ticket price. Why does the Hyperloop matter? If everything Musk has claimed about the Hyperloop were true and it worked exactly as expected—which plenty of people are dubious of—it would be a massive boon for everyone from travelers to the working class. The average travel time to work for an American is 25.4 minutes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and traveling to and from work costs workers around $2,600 per year—and that’s just to get as far as a car can take you with traffic, construction, and all the other possible obstructions factored in, meaning you probably aren’t exiting your zip code on the commute. Advertisement Public transportation, as it currently exists in the United States and in many other places around the world, cannot offer this type of mobility despite the benefits in providing it—and considerable harm in failing to do so. A study conducted by Harvard found that geographic mobility is linked to economic mobility, while another study from New York University indicated a link between poor access to public transportation and lower income and higher rates of unemployment in New York City. With the Hyperloop, major cities and communities would essentially become suburbs of one another and commutes would be considerably shorter, meaning people could easily live on one city while working in another—assuming, once again, that it operates exactly as Musk has suggested. When will it be finished? There’s no time like the present, right? Since Musk first started talking up his tubes in 2013, the project has made considerable progress. A test track has been built for Musk’s version of the system, and the very first of what are sure to be many tests runs from Hyperloop One (formerly Hyperloop Technologies) was completed on May 11, 2016. Advertisement