Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
Those of you completely oblivious to the Marvel Comics universe will have read that title and thought "what the hell is vibranium and how come I haven't heard of it by now?" while those who are familiar with Captain America would have gone "what the hell?"
Yes, what the hell indeed. But don't worry, the Hyperloop Transportation Technology (HTT) engineers haven't found that meteorite that crashed onto Earth 10,000 years ago bringing this wonder-metal to our un-wonderous world, it's just one of those situations that will probably be sorted out quickly by each side's attorneys.
It seems that the people working for HTT aren't the geeks you'd expect from people working in the technology segment since they appear to have no idea the "vibranium" name is already in use. Either that or they are geeks, thank you very much, they just don't know that much about how things like intellectual property work.
Well, whatever the case, let's forget about Captain America and his shield for a while and focus on what HTT was trying to communicate when this bit about vibranium derailed us off-course. On a busy day when the company also presented the inside of a pod, HTT announced it will be coating both the inside and the outside of its vehicle with "vibranium."
It turns out that the mix-up could very well not lie with HTT, but one of its partners, Slovakian firm c2i (following the deal signed with the Slovakian government in March). It has come up with a composite material based on carbon fiber that also incorporates a series of sensors that monitor stability, temperature and integrity.
They will constantly be transmitting information about the integrity of that layer of material so that any damage can be spotted immediately, no matter how minor.
With fears that an eventual accident inside a Hyperloop tube would have catastrophic results, the companies competing to build the first functional track must prioritize safety, and HTT's solution sounds excellent for detecting any minute cracks that could develop over time and threaten the structural integrity of the pod. Engadget says that this new material - call it what you want - is ten times stronger than steel and five times lighter than aluminum, so running in a vacuumed tube shouldn't provide too many chances for accidents.
It seems that the people working for HTT aren't the geeks you'd expect from people working in the technology segment since they appear to have no idea the "vibranium" name is already in use. Either that or they are geeks, thank you very much, they just don't know that much about how things like intellectual property work.
Well, whatever the case, let's forget about Captain America and his shield for a while and focus on what HTT was trying to communicate when this bit about vibranium derailed us off-course. On a busy day when the company also presented the inside of a pod, HTT announced it will be coating both the inside and the outside of its vehicle with "vibranium."
It turns out that the mix-up could very well not lie with HTT, but one of its partners, Slovakian firm c2i (following the deal signed with the Slovakian government in March). It has come up with a composite material based on carbon fiber that also incorporates a series of sensors that monitor stability, temperature and integrity.
They will constantly be transmitting information about the integrity of that layer of material so that any damage can be spotted immediately, no matter how minor.
With fears that an eventual accident inside a Hyperloop tube would have catastrophic results, the companies competing to build the first functional track must prioritize safety, and HTT's solution sounds excellent for detecting any minute cracks that could develop over time and threaten the structural integrity of the pod. Engadget says that this new material - call it what you want - is ten times stronger than steel and five times lighter than aluminum, so running in a vacuumed tube shouldn't provide too many chances for accidents.
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