Take the Delorean, we're going to take a walk through space-time
Although we are overcome with emotion, when we cross the Atlantic Ocean on our way to American lands or fly east to visit an Asian destination, it is inevitable that we ask ourselves if the day will come when we don't lose almost 24 hours of our short vacation to reach the final destination . When will that moment come when, in just three or four hours, we travel the thousands of kilometers that separate Madrid from San Francisco or Barcelona from Tokyo?
The hybrid between car and plane
There are not a few geniuses who have set out to design the means of transport of the future, whether by air, land or even water. If there is more and more traffic in the air, just like on land, why not plunge into the seas and oceans to cross the world in the blink of an eye? This same conclusion seems to have been reached by a team of scientists from the Harbin Institute of Technology in China, who have designed a supersonic submarine capable of traveling the more than 9,870 kilometers that separate San Francisco and Shanghai. in less than two hours.
They assure that this kind of underwater torpedo could travel to more than 1,200 kilometers per hour . However, the idea is not entirely new. As early as the 1960s, Soviet engineers tried to implement this technology, known as supercavitation , which seeks to make an object move at the highest possible speed underwater by creating a bubble around it, and thus avoiding the resistance of the medium in which it moves.
In those early tests, one torpedo reached 370 km/h , and now they think that, even under water, the sound barrier (5,800 km/h) can be broken. How many hours of travel would we save in this supersonic submarine, right?
Can you imagine going from San Francisco to Shanghai in less than two hours?
In mainland , some other restless genius, with many zeros in his current account, proposed long ago to design the transport of the future, the one that saves us 12 hours locked up in a plane . One of the pioneers in turning the coconut and drawing sketches of a supersonic transport has been the billionaire Elon Musk . Many consider it somewhat crazy, but for a few years now he has not hidden his firm intention to build the spectacular **Hyperloop**.
An encapsulated journey with Hyperloop
It's been a long time since Musk has it all planned . When he made his purpose public, he also presented a series of studies on the matter for, in a first phase, as a test, connect Los Angeles and San Francisco . If the idea is carried out, anyone could travel the 559.71 kilometers that separate these two California cities in just 35 minutes. The capsules he has designed could hold 28 people each. , leaving the station at 2-minute intervals (or even 30 seconds at peak times) .
The tubes through which the capsules would travel would be elevated, and enormous columns would support them so that, inside, the cabins would travel at 1,220 km/h. Before the project starts, yes, someone would have to put on the table the 100,000 million dollars (87,929 million euros) that it could cost. A figure that the creator of it should not be so exorbitant considering that, recently, Elon Musk has announced that he will start with the construction of the Hyperloop.
Capsules designed to hold up to 28 people
A group of 100 engineers have seen fit to altruistically join the project and, from now on, spend your free time trying to carry out such an enormous undertaking . They have made some tweaks to the initial calculations, but they think that from an engineering point of view, it is more than feasible develop a means of transport of these characteristics.
They seem, therefore, to agree with the founder of PayPal and SpaceX when pointing out that a supersonic means of land transport would be more successful than an air one. In Elon Musk's opinion, a plane traveling over 1000 km/h would not make any sense. He believes too much time would be wasted taking off and landing. However, there are those who do not share this opinion and are already seeing how to manage to travel by air without spending several hours locked up in an airplane.
Without going any further, the young ex-pilot of the Santa Monica Air Force, Sean Gillette, who at only 25 years of age has set to work to manufacture a private jet capable of traveling at more than 1,150 kilometers per hour. The main purpose of his company, ** Saker Aircraft **, is none other than to design and manufacture the S-1, a two-seater aircraft that could cross the United States from coast to coast in just two hours.
A private jet capable of traveling at more than 1,150 km/h
Although the firm expects this means of transport to have up to ten seater , the truth is that the comforts will not be the same as those offered today by the private jets of certain billionaire tycoons. As expected, the S-1 will also not be available for all pockets s: whoever is willing to get one will have to pay between 5 and 7 million dollars (between 4.4 and 6.1 million euros). According to Gillette estimates, about 350 million dollars (309 million euros) will be needed to develop this airplane, which reminds us so much of war fighters.
If the idea convinces you, you still have time to save. Until 2019 do not plan to present this ultrasonic aircraft. If you think the wait is too long, you can always resort to other means of transport that are already operational. For example, you can ride the flying skateboard used by Marty McFly in Back to the Future . There are already several firms that have got down to work to invite us to shoot without a wheel in between (forgive the paradox).
It may be slower than the S-1 or the Hyperloop, but to move around the city it can be a very practical and fun alternative. But tell it to the intrepid brave who dared to try **the table designed by the HUVr company** that, thanks to an application that we can install on our 'smartphone', would take us flying to that place that we indicate by the route we have chosen. Nevertheless, the crazy project seems to have stalled.
And this has not been the only flying skateboard he has had to get on the mythical Tony Hawk , which everyone invites when designing a new board, whether it flies or not. The Hendo Hover company has been entrusted to fans of the saga of Marty McFly and the Doctor Brown to raise the money needed to design and manufacture a skateboard capable of moving without the need for wheels. Such was the success of the crowdfunding campaign that they doubled the amount they initially asked for.
The technology that makes this possible, as its own creators explain, is called Magnetic Field Architecture . The electromagnets that are located at the bottom of the table, and that supply the wheels, repel all non-ferrous conductive surfaces, or what is the same, those that do not contain metal in significant quantities. They are still finalizing some other details, but according to the plans of the founders of the firm Greg and Jill Henderson, the hoverboard could go on sale in late 2015.
Seen what has been seen, there are few geniuses who imagine the future of means of transport as a vehicle with two or more wheels. Whether on rails, in the air or underwater, in his imagination the streets seem to be for pedestrians. Perhaps, as Carl Dietrich thinks , there will still be the odd car driving around , or rather using the streets as a runway.
The founder of ** Terrafugia ** has set out to build a hybrid between car and plane . The Transition® it is what we have always known as a flying car. This two-seater vehicle, which fulfills the great promise of science fiction, will allow us both to walk the streets of the city to go to the supermarket and to cross Spain from end to end through the air. In just 60 seconds it will go from being a conventional car to being an airplane. And this is only the first part of his extravagant intentions: his ultimate purpose is to build the TF-X, an electric vehicle with four seats that allows us to fly and roll on the roads in the most fun way.
What seems clear is that, in a short time, the dichotomy between traveling by car or motorcycle will be a thing of the past. Deciding which means of transport to use on our trips will be somewhat more complicated. Luckily, yes, we will not have to endure hours and hours and hours locked up in a plane. I'm sure there will be someone who misses him.
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Marty McFly's scooter closer than ever