GOING LOOPY
HYPERLOOP
There’s been a lot of hype, but this sleek capsule built by California-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HyperloopTT) shows that super-fast hyperloop travel is on its way, promising speeds of up to 1,223km/h (760mph) for city-to-city travel – faster than a commercial jet.
The full-scale, 30m capsule is being prepared for testing at HyperloopTT’s 320m test track in Toulouse, France. If all goes well, the first passenger trials will take place next year, with the aim of having the first commercial system up and running by 2022, probably in Abu Dhabi.
Hyperloop capsules will reach their high speeds by gliding through sealed tubes from which most of the air has been removed by vacuum pumps, reducing drag. The capsules are levitated just above the track using magnets, reducing friction, and powered by a ‘linear induction motor’ that also uses magnetic forces.
The Hyperloop has been hailed as the first new mode of transportation in over 100 years, but there are still significant technological challenges to overcome, such as the complexity of maintaining the vacuum in the tubes over such long distances. Nevertheless, plenty of engineering brainpower is being invested, and companies including Virgin Hyperloop One, Hardt Hyperloop and TransPod are all working on their own systems.
HELLO VERA
VOLVO VERA TRUCK
Lorries of the future may be barely recognisable from the ones pounding up and down motorways today. Say hello to Volvo’s self-driving truck Vera, which does away with a driver’s cab entirely.
Denne historien er fra January - February 2020-utgaven av BBC Earth.
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Denne historien er fra January - February 2020-utgaven av BBC Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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World's First Malaria Vaccine
The World Health Organization’s director-general hails ‘historic moment’ as mass immunisation of African children begins
Is River Pollution Putting The Species In Jeopardy Again?
Ten years ago, it was jubilantly announced that o ers had returned to every county in England. But is river pollution putting the species in jeopardy again?
The Big Burnout
Long hours, low pay and a lack of appreciation — among other things — can make for a stressful workplace and lead to burnout. It’s something we should all be concerned about, because over half of the workforce reports feeling it
Putting Nature To Rights
More countries are enshrining the right to a clean environment into law. So if a company or government is impinging upon that right, you could take them to court
Mega Spaceship: Is It Possible For China To Build A Kilometre-Long Spacecraft?
Buoyed on by its successful Moon missions, China has launched a five-year study to investigate the possibility of building the biggest-ever spacecraft
Are We Getting Happier?
Enjoying more good days than bad? Feel like that bounce in your step’s getting bigger? HELEN RUSSELL looks into whether we’re all feeling more cheery…
“Unless the Japanese got the US off their backs in the Pacific, they believed they would face complete destruction”
Eighty years ago Japan’s surprise raid on Pearl Harbor forced the US offthe fence and into the Second World War. Ellie Cawthorne is making a new HistoryExtra podcast series about the attack, and she spoke to Christopher Harding about the long roots of Japan’s disastrous decision
Your Mysterious Brain
Science has mapped the surface of Mars and translated the code for life. By comparison, we know next to nothing about what’s between our ears. Over the next few pages, we ask leading scientists to answer some of the most important questions about our brains…
Why Do We Fall In Love?
Is it companionship, procreation or something more? DR ANNA MACHIN reveals what makes us so willing to become targets for Cupid’s arrow
Detecting the dead
Following personal tragedy, the creator of that most rational of literary figures, Sherlock Holmes, developed an obsession with spiritualism. Fiona Snailham and Anna Maria Barry explore the supernatural interests of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
