What is the maximum speed of future transport vehicles?

The achievable speed is one of the measures of the progress of current transport vehicles. When it comes to airplanes, cars or trams, . we often consider the maximum speed it can achieve. We now have airplanes that can achieve sound speed, the 434km / h speed of the Hennessey Venom GT supercar or the Japanese trains that take just over 3 hours to travel from Tokyo to Osaka. . So what will be the speed of future transport vehicles?

>>>NASA wants to revive supersonic air transport

Planes

There is a surprising and contradictory fact that our commercial passenger aircraft are currently flying at a slower pace than the aircraft in the 1960s. The usual level of commercial aircraft is from 890 to 945km / h (480 - 510 knots). Meanwhile, the average speed of the Boeing 707 in the 1960s was 972.3km / h (525 knots).

Do you believe the Boeing 707 in the 1960s has an average speed greater than today's passenger planes?

So why is there a "backward" of the plane's speed? According to Mark Drela, aerospace professor: "The main problem is to save fuel. Going at a faster rate corresponds to the amount of fuel per passenger - the mileage also increases. This is especially true for high-bypass turbofan engines (high-flow turbofan engines) often seen with large-diameter propellers. "

The only exception to this is Concorde. This is a commercial supersonic passenger aircraft produced by Aérospatiale (of the British airline group) with the ability to fly at twice the speed of sound. However, for many different reasons, Concorde was officially shut down in 2003. In addition, a major drawback of Concorde is that due to the high speed, it will create a wave. Negative shock and the end result are loud bangs on the sky.

Concorde - commercial supersonic passenger aircraft produced by Aérospatiale capable of double the speed of sound

Although it has stopped operating for many years, Concorde has partly given us the direction of future commercial aircraft trends. At the same time, it also contributed to inspiring many aircraft manufacturers from all over the world not only in terms of speed but also solving many airline industry backlogs in the past.

Until now, several firms are developing new-generation commercial supersonic aircraft. The problem of operating noise has been solved by a special, compact fuselage design that reduces or even eliminates noise. At the same time, Professor Drela also stated that the amount of fuel per passenger - mileage has improved and is no longer a concern for airlines like in the past.

Metro

Shinkansen electric train - the pride of the Japanese railway industry

Here, we will begin 50 years ago, when the Shinkansen was officially inaugurated in Japan, operating on the route between Tokyo and Osaka at speeds of up to 209km / h. As a result, the time to travel from Tokyo to Osaka has decreased from 6 hours to 4 hours. And very soon, this number dropped to only 3 hours and 10 minutes thanks to the outstanding improvements made by Japanese engineers.

Since then, high-speed trains have become a widely developed means of transportation throughout Japan. From the cities to the big towns across Japan, this means of transportation can be found. Until now, the speed of electric trains has reached nearly 320 km / h and this number will continue to increase in the future.

NASA Skytran project artwork with moving "cars" on air-cushion monorail

Not only that, Japan is also known as the railway industry that has the most reliable and safe operation in the world. All trains depart on time with a delay in seconds and never happen a fatal accident since the start of operation.

So what will the future of the railway industry look like? Of course there are a number of companies that are researching ideas that contribute to changing the appearance of the railway industry in the future. Most recently, SkyTran project with NASA's gas monorail system or the idea of ​​a vertical rail system on high-rise buildings can reach speeds of up to 965 km / h, double the speed. Japanese electric trains today.

Car

Austin 1100 - One of the best-selling cars in London in the 1960s with a maximum speed of 140km / h

The 1960s were a time when demand for cars was increasing and gradually became a popular means of transportation in many parts of the world. By the mid-1960s, 1.5 million cars were registered in London. At that time, one of the best-selling cars in the UK was Austin 1100 with a maximum speed of 140km / h and took 17.3 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 96km / h.

During 50 years of development until today, it is certain that cars have made great progress. In 2012 there were 2.6 million cars registered in London and 54% of the households owned at least 1 car. The best-selling car in London at the time of 2012 was the Ford Fiesta with the ability to reach a maximum speed of 196km / h and acceleration time from 0-96km / h only 9.2 seconds.

The above are just two comparative figures in London, England between the two timelines of 1960 and 2012. Of course, all models of manufacturers from around the world have evolved, and the concept of speed The maximum is always paid attention to as a measure of car development. We've seen the 434km / h speed of the Hennessey Venom GT, one of the fastest cars in the world today. So what about the future?

Hennessey Venom GT - One of the fastest cars in the world today with speeds up to 434 km / h

The answer will definitely be faster, even faster. But with high speed it is a certain safety factor that must be placed on top. In addition, the future of cars is also drawn by the prospect of self-driving cars. Obviously, self-driving cars are even safer than those controlled by humans. It will be cars that limit their speed to conform to the rules, to suit the traffic situation, . and of course all of them are aimed at the common purpose of convenience and safe for people.

Self-driving cars will be the future trend?

Even Google also stated that as of now, two accidents caused by self-driving cars have been caused by humans. If nothing changes, we can be certain that the future of cars will be shaped by self-driving cars. The only barrier to making that dream come true is the traffic system and legal regulations of countries around the world. Yes, that is the future of cars, the future that will probably no longer violate the rules due to speed, drunkenness or texting when driving, due to red lights, . causing.

Means of people in the future?

Artwork of the idea of ​​ET3 migration system

There are many ideas proposed to develop a system of future transport vehicles. One of the ideas that I find interesting is the ET3 project.Somewhat , ET3 is a system of space-based movement on Earth (Space Travel on Earth) . This will be a silent, low-cost, safe, electrically-operated travel system, and especially faster than jet aircraft.

According to the original basic idea, this would be a capsule-sized passenger cabin, 1.5 meters in diameter, weighs 186 kg and can carry 6 people.This "capsule" will move inside a vacuum tube and will be accelerated by a linear electric motor. When stopping at stations, a pipe-closing mechanism will be activated to ensure passengers can move up and down without allowing outside air to enter the duct.

As expected, the ET3 system will transport passengers at a speed of 600km / h inland and this number will increase to 6500km / h if traveling across the country. With it, you can go from Hanoi to New York in just 2 hours. Of course, the project just stopped at the very beginning of the original idea. There must be a lot of research and development efforts on a large scale and it takes a lot of time before it can become a reality in the future. However, the idea also partly suggests to us that a future with migration will be carried out in piping systems with speeds of up to 6500km / h. Please wait for the answer from the future.

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