Inverse - 🚅 Plane-train hybrid vehicles

Good Morning

August 09 2022

Finding affordable yet efficient travel options can prove to be a Herculean task, particularly when choosing between a pricey plane ticket or a sluggish train journey. But what if you can combine the best of both worlds? That’s the goal for TransPod, a Canadian-French transportation tech company that just unveiled its plane-train hybrid vehicle.

What's New

Transport

Innovation

Can this plane-train hybrid deliver on the hype?

If for some reason a 372 mph bullet train is too sluggish for your taste, you may be in luck: A new super speedy plane-train “hybrid” called FluxJet could (theoretically) become available within the next few decades. It aims to travel over 600 mph, a bit faster than the average commercial plane and around three times quicker than most high-speed trains, according to Canadian-French transportation tech company TransPod.

FluxJet will take advantage of a hyperloop system for its pod. This science fiction-esque technology hasn’t exactly had the best press in recent years, thanks to a string of high-profile mishaps — take the finding that the capsule could possibly kill you, or the fact that a hyperloop project sucked up California funding for public transit.

But TransPod holds its own among the gaggle of emerging hyperloop projects due to several distinctive features, Sebastien Gendron, TransPod co-founder and CEO, tells Inverse. “We always say the devil is in the details,” he adds.

Views

Space

R.I.P. Copernicus Sentinel-1B

For almost five years, the Copernicus Sentinel 1-B satellite monitored and photographed our planet from above alongside its identical counterpart, Sentinel-1A.

The pair captured views of the Earth quite distinct from satellites that see in the visual spectrum. Radar vision let the satellites peer through clouds to observe changing croplands, oil spills, drifting icebergs, and more.

But 8 months ago the satellite stopped working properly, and soon Sentinel-1B will be replaced by a new satellite, Sentinel-1C. Here's a look back at its stunning views over five years in space.

Take a closer look

HBO	Television

Westworld Season 4 is finally fixing the show’s original sin

The little-robot-show-that-could is finally great science fiction. What changed?

In the topsy-turvy universe of HBO's Westworld, characters love to avoid telling you what’s actually going on. This is both the series' signature and its curse.

But as Season 4 heads towards its eighth and final episode, it feels like some kind of conclusive storytelling is finally happening. Will this be Westworld’s last rodeo? Or will the series be renewed for Season 5? Either way, Episode 7 suggests that the show’s enduring legacy might be that of good, thoughtful science fiction. Warning! Spoilers ahead.

Marvel

Entertainment

Giancarlo Esposito wants to play Professor X

Giancarlo Esposito is everywhere these days. To you, he might be the terrifyingly stoic meth and chicken lord Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Or maybe he’s the Imperial revanchist Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, former Vought International CEO Stan Edgar in The Boys, or even authoritarian dictator Anton Castillo in Far Cry 6.

But after a stretch of playing franchise villains, Esposito may be trying to diversify his career with a character who’s less antagonistic but just as iconic.

DISCOVERY

Mind and Body

Walk into any cosmetics store and turn into the skincare aisle. Among all the lotions and potions, you will find it hard to avoid the reigning heavyweight of anti-aging ingredients: hyaluronic acid. This sugar molecule typically found in the body reportedly delivers some serious benefits, from ironing out wrinkles and plumping skin to safeguarding eye and joint health.

Now hyaluronic acid can add revitalizing muscles to its glowy resume, according to a paper published Thursday in Science. Researchers discovered that after muscle damage, hyaluronic acid swoops in and nudges muscle stem cells to get cracking on making repairs. The finding could lead to interventions that boost our bodies’ mending mechanisms, particularly in people who experience severe trauma or injury or those with a muscle-wasting condition like muscular dystrophy.

Meanwhile...

Webb Telescope discovers an “amazing” galaxy from the edge of time

In Mexico, indigenous peoples and scientists race to save an iconic Aztec animal

'Rings of Power' clip sets up an epic Sauron moment Tolkien fans will love

35 years ago, a terrible Capcom video game spawned an unstoppable genre

Today in history: On August 9, 1969 American actress Sharon Tate and four others were murdered by followers of Charles Manson.

Song of the day: "No Surprises," Ramin Djawadi

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Inverse - 🚅 Plane-train hybrid vehicles

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