Futuristic 'Hyperloop' Train Passes High-Speed Test

The age of uber-quick "hyperloop" transportation had a milestone Wednesday: One of the companies hoping to turn the idea into reality successfully tested its propulsion system in the desert near Las Vegas, Mashable reports. So what's a hyperloop? It's the brainchild of Tesla's Elon Musk, and the general idea is to move people in above-ground tubes traveling about 750mph. A six-hour drive from LA to San Francisco would be cut to 30 minutes, though we're still at least a few years away from reality. Some essentials:

• Hold the champagne: NPR explains that Wednesday's demo by Hyperloop One focused "on only one piece of a very complicated system."
• Forget the technology—the real problem would be passengers' vomit, explains a post at Inverse.
• The Verge has an "everything you need to know" audio explainer here.
• "The lack of air resistance and friction of traditional transportation are what would allow it to achieve such high speeds." The Wall Street Journal has some more basics on the science.

• USA Today looks at two other startups in the "hyperloop wars."
• One of those companies, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, plans a "magnetic levitation system," and Business Insider has the nitty gritty on how it would work.
• One huge hurdle: Obtaining land rights for such a system. Gizmodo digs in.
• A new video game is based on the concept, notes SlashGear.

(More Hyperloop stories.)