No one denies speed when it comes down to traveling and reaching their desired location at the exact time. One of the best modes to travel efficiently is through Maglev and Hyperloop.
The concept of the hyperloop is still new, but Maglev trains have been functioning for the past few years.
Key Takeaways
- Hyperloop is a proposed high-speed transportation system using vacuum tubes and magnetic levitation, while Maglev is an existing technology using magnetic levitation for trains.
- Hyperloop promises faster travel speeds than Maglev, potentially reaching over 700 mph.
- Maglev is already operational in various countries, while Hyperloop is still developing and tested.
Hyperloop vs Maglev
Hyperloop is a proposed mode of transportation that uses a system of sealed tubes or tunnels to transport people and cargo at high speeds. Maglev short for magnetic levitation is a technology that uses powerful magnets to levitate a train above a track, removing the need for wheels.
The Hyperloop is a revolutionary mode of ground transportation that is currently being developed by several businesses.
Passengers will travel at speeds including over 700 miles per hour in a hovering pod that travels through massive low-pressure tunnels up or down earth.
With maglev innovation, the train runs over a magnetic guideway that regulates the carriage’s speed and performance.
While combustion and levitation do not involve working parts, the bogies will shift in respect to the engine’s main structure, and certain systems require retractable wheels for stability at low speeds around 150 km/h (93 mph).
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Hyperloop | Maglev |
|---|---|---|
| Concept | A hyperloop is a technology that “requires a unique atmosphere in a tube that is built above or under the surface.” The traveler pods are driven by two electromechanical motors rather than air pressure, just like in vacuum tubing. | A train car is suspended over an U-shaped masonry guideway by superconductors in Maglev. When matched sides confront each other, such magnets resist one another, much like regular electromagnets. |
| Founded By | Elon Musk developed the word to characterize the clean and modern initiative, which began in the 1900s. | Hermann Kemper, a German, was awarded a monopoly in 1934 for the very first notion of an electromagnetic, magnetically levitated train (Yadav, 2013). |
| Advantages | The hyperloop is the quickest method of travel, reaching velocities of more than 500 mph with a top range of 760 mph (805 km/h -1223 km/h). | The major benefit of maglev trains is that they really do not contain moving parts, like the traditional trains. As a result, part wear and tear is negligible, lowering maintenance costs significantly. |
| Drawbacks | The only drawback of Hyperloop is it’s non-availability in most parts of the world. | Maglev has a series of benefits, but as it reaches high speeds, the drag coefficient will become so great that it restricts the train’s velocity. |
| Which is Better | When it comes down to speed and the ease of reaching the destination in minimal time, Hyperloop remains unrivaled. | Maglev has been in action since very long and serves the purpose well in most of the parts where the former can’t reach. |
What is Hyperloop?
Just about all devices that utilize open-air technologies suffer from aerodynamic drag. At incredible velocities, it, like the magnetically levitated train, is subjected to drag.
When the train’s speed doubles, the drag coefficient is transformed four times, as well the strength of around eight times is required to increase the train’s velocity enough to counteract the drag force.
In this approach, the maximum speed of open-air surface devices is limited. Tubes, pods, as well as connections are three main aspects of suggested hyperloop architectures. A tube is a big closed, low-pressure conduit in this context.
The Hyperloop works by transporting specially constructed “capsules” or “pods” throughout a steel tube that is kept at a vacuum pump.
The pods can skate for the majority of the travel because the rolling barrier is abolished, and wind speed is considerably decreased.
An electronically controlled intake fan, as well as axial compressors, would’ve been put at the snout of the capsules in the alpha proposed design to “actively transport elevated air along the front of the back of the container,” avoiding the risk of air pressure accumulating.
What is Maglev?
Maglev (short for magnetically levitated) is a rail mass transit system that uses 2 sets of magnetic materials: somebody to resist and shove the vehicle off the tracks, and quite another to propel the inverted coaster forward using the absence of resistance.
Various high-speed transcontinental (above 400 km an hour (250 mph)) as well as low-speed metropolitan (80 km every hour (50 mph) to 200 km an hour (120 mph)) technologies are designed or are in the planning stages.
To elevate the train, electromechanical suspension (EMS) exploits the electrostatic attraction among magnets on the sidewalls and underneath of the train, as well as on the roadbed.
Transrapid, a version of EMS, uses an electromagnet to elevate the locomotive off the bogie.
The adhesion of magnetism on the vehicle’s underbelly that wrapped all around the guideway’s steel rails keeps the train roughly 1.3 cm (0.5 inches) well above tracks.
Main Differences Between Hyperloop and Maglev
- Hyperloop technology “needs a special ambiance in a tunnel that is built up or down surface,” according to the sources. Instead of air pressure, the traveler pods are powered by two electromechanical actuators, similar to vacuum piping. In Maglev, superconductors hang a subway train beyond a U-shaped brickwork roadbed.
- The Hyperloop term was coined by Elon Musk to describe the sleek and simple endeavor that began in the 1900s. Whereas, during the year 1934, Hermann Kemper, a German, was granted a monopoly for developing the very first electromagnetic, magnetic levitation locomotive (Yadav, 2013).
- The hyperloop is the fastest mode of transportation, capable of reaching speeds of above 500 mph with such an upper end of 760 mph (805 km/h -1223 km/h). The main advantage of maglev trains is that, unlike ordinary trains, these do not have any moving parts. As a consequence, component wear and tear is minimal, substantially cutting maintenance expenses.
- The only disadvantage of Hyperloop is that it is not now available in most regions of the world. On the other hand, Maglev provides a number of advantages. However, while travelling at high speeds, the drag force has become so large that the train’s pace is limited.
- Whenever it comes to efficiency and the simplicity of getting to your location in the shortest amount of time, Hyperloop is unparalleled. Whereas Maglev, on the other hand, has been in use for a long time and fulfills the function admirably in most areas in which the former cannot.
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15568318.2020.1789780
- https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/multicriteria-evaluation-of-the-high-speed-rail-transrapid-maglev-and-hyperloop-systems
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