PROPULSION VEHICLE WHICH TRAVELS ALONG A SOFT, POROUS TRACK

摘要

A vehicle track including a soft porous material and a vehicle which rides on the track by skiing cm the soft porous material. The vehicle has a large ski surface that rides on the soft porous material, supporting the weight of the vehicle at high speeds. Air within the soft porous material supplies most of the lift needed to support the train, Qniy a small amount of the support is provided by the structure of the porous material itself when the vehicle is in motion. As a result, the friction between the soft porous material and the ski surface may also be exceedingly small. To increase the amount of lift provided by the soft porous material it can be contained within a channel having impermeable sides and bottom. If the ski surface is substantially the same width as the channel, the impermeable sides prevent the air from escaping on either side of die ski surface. Accordingly, the trapped air contributes to greatly enhanced lift force. At lower speeds the vehicle can use wheels to support some or all of its weight. These wheels can ride on rails that are part of the track. The vehicle includes a propulsion system that is independent of the wheels so that it may travel over the soft porous material without running on the wheels.