Posted on 01/05/2015 2:18:31 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
“Could the Hyperloop Really Cost $6 Billion? Critics Say No”
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/15/could-the-hyperloop-really-cost-6-billion-critics-say-no/
Interesting article.
Cost is addressed by pointing out that the capsule probably wouldn’t cost all that much.
Which is really, really irrelevant. The cost part is in the tube, not the capsules.
Much better article on cost issue. If this thing were ever built, seems likely tickets would cost at least an order of magnitude more than the $20 Musk claims, and quite possibly two orders.
Also having trouble seeing how they’d arrange for interim stops. So it would be LA to SF and that’s it.
They could have an express tube and a local tube, just like they do with old-fashioned trains.
Of course that means 4 tubes instead of just two, at a slight increase in cost.
And what happens when a capsule has a mechanical problem somewhere between LA and SF and either slows down or stops?
There is much truth in your statement. These fashionable billionaires are so quick to allocate vast amounts of public resources toward their pet concerns, their personal resources, not so much.
LA to Las Vegas in about ten years for a cost of roughly $16 billion??
Bwahahaha
I am in Las Vegas and have been around a number of the rail schemes. Monorail, MagLev, DesertXpress. It ain’t gonna happen unless Uncle Sugar is completely insane.
If this idea is so great deal I wonder if Musk is wiling to foot the bill for the entire project.
Of course not. He is counting on Uncle Sugar to help out.
I think that this idea might "revolutionize" freight transport. People? Not so much.
This idea would not work on an LA to SF run, but on a transcontinental run, you could have exit and entry pods that detach and attach to the nonstop capsule. The entry pod at the last station serving as the exit pod for the next.
Thank you Bob!
I actually miss the Willie Green Happy Choo-Choo threads.
That much delusion in one place was always fun to watch.
Highs peed ground transportation will always be a pipe dream. Even if you get the thing built all it takes is one small earthquake, just enough to cause a small misalignment of the tracks or tubes or whatever, and everyone on the train becomes a stain on the walls. The civil suit costs alone are staggering.
Air flight is much cheaper and more efficient.
If Musk wants to make a splash in the world why doesn’t he concentrate his efforts on the flying car?
Given the way some people drive on the ground, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea to add altitude into the process.
“Re: G-Forces....Yup. Those laws of physics are pesky, aren’t they? :-) I think that this idea might “revolutionize” freight transport. People? Not so much.”
Good point about freight. By the way, the turn radius for this thing, when moving at 3600 mph is about 30 miles (to hold to 1-G) - so you could do circles in Lake Michigan, next to Chicago without hitting land...but not by much!
Hey, no problemo.
Just have none of that starting and stopping business, other than at the far ends.
Ever heard of optical sorters? They rapidly scan, then use a blast of compressed air to blow whatever it is that is being, ah, selected for special attention, to be sorted from the "flow" using a sudden strong blast of air to shove whatever it is --->sideways out and away from the rest.
Arriving at one's exit could be a thrilling "E-ticket" experience.
Throw blow momma from the train.
Now there's a phrase that suggests discomforting images...
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