The Hyperloop, futuristic 800 mph transportation

Frank

Frank

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-08-12/revealed-elon-musk-explains-the-hyperloop

http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2013-08-12/0812_Hyperloop_605.jpg[/img]
No wonder RDJ and Jon Favreau based the mannerisms of the big screen Tony Stark on Elon Musk.

What it is is a pneumatic tube that can propel passengers at 800 mph between cities. The idea which is to have the structure for it built over interstate roads in order to avoid any sort of potential issues with land owners. The initial plan Musk has come up with has it between LA and San Fran where the trip could be done in 30 minutes and cheaper than flying.

It all comes from his distaste for the 70 billion dollar high speed train thing in Cali that's set to begin next year which he calls too slow and too expensive.
 
strawman

strawman

drawn_inward said:
It would be nice if we could get a coast-to-coast high-speed rail in my lifetime. Probably won't happen. :(
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I had honestly hoped that raising gas prices plus increasingly annoying airline restrictions would make high speed rail more likely. Reality is that this seems to be offset somewhat by better video conferencing and information exchange, as well as cheaper and faster shipping (so glad fedex and UPS and usps all compete so energetically).

Further, high speed rail, particularly in the beginning, is even more easily targeted than airlines (just check out Europe's troubles with railroad terror), so it would probably be annoyingly annoying anyway.

What I would like to see is research into super expressways. They needn't be automated - cars are more stable at higher speeds than they used to be, and people are capable of driving safely at speeds in excess of 100mph. Build a few freeways with max speed of 120mph, and minimum of 80mph. Call on car manufacturers to design cars for such travel, with increased safety equipment, and design the freeway so that collisions all travel in the same direction, and there aren't any obstructions one could run into.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Comes a time we won't be able to move any faster due to limitations of the human frame. What we need to be researching is folding space. Thus, we'll be able to seemingly travel huge distances without actually moving very fast at all. Portals, if you will. Of course, we might risk the occasional detour through hell, but hey, progress always comes at a price.
 
Gusto

Gusto

GasBandit said:
Comes a time we won't be able to move any faster due to limitations of the human frame. What we need to be researching is folding space. Thus, we'll be able to seemingly travel huge distances without actually moving very fast at all. Portals, if you will. Of course, we might risk the occasional detour through hell, but hey, progress always comes at a price. for the good of all of us, except the ones who are dead.
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Yep.
 
Dei

Dei

I'm pretty surprised this thread went the monorail route instead of Futurama, I'm just throwing that out there.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

stienman said:
Further, high speed rail, particularly in the beginning, is even more easily targeted than airlines (just check out Europe's troubles with railroad terror), so it would probably be annoyingly annoying anyway.
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On the one hand, yes, it is easily targeted. On the other hand...We've had a bombing in London on the subway, and in Madrid at a railway station, and I think Moscow...Other than that, some very minor average bombs which were either found in time or didn't do much damage. Did I miss a whole string of horrible accidents where trains were derailed into big buildings full of people?

The biggest issue with European high-speed rail is the European railway unions. And the typical political tendency to give crap to cronies, resulting in 1 train between Brussels and Amsterdam (that's less than 150 miles) having to deal with 4 different voltages, 3 different safety systems, having to change sides 'cause one has trains driving on the left and the other on the right, and needing two different types of airconditioning because it's technically impossible to have one system meet both the Belgian and Dutch legal standards, as they're contradictory. This was a bit of an extreme example, but it's not much better anywhere else - TGV, Eurostar, ICE, Thalys,...all good systems, and all at odds with one another. Huzzah. :p
 
Eriol

Eriol

I'm still kinda weirded out by how GasBandit referenced Doom 3 for portals, instead of, you know, PORTAL. Gusto keeps trying to drag him back, but Gas keeps going for it.


And besides the "it's so f'n dark that it's unplayable," the worst thing about that game was the demon cherubs. Those were just creepy in every possible way.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Eriol said:
I'm still kinda weirded out by how GasBandit referenced Doom 3 for portals, instead of, you know, PORTAL. Gusto keeps trying to drag him back, but Gas keeps going for it.


And besides the "it's so f'n dark that it's unplayable," the worst thing about that game was the demon cherubs. Those were just creepy in every possible way.
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(Actually, I was referencing Event Horizon, but Doom works as well I suppose).
 
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