Sci-Fi Tech We Could Have Right Now (For a Price)

PlainBlack writes "Possibility isn't limited by technology. And it's certainly not limited by human imagination. What makes something impossible is the lack of cold, hard, cash. Wired blog takes a look at 10 science fiction technologies we could build, if they weren't so expensive. 'New York-L.A. Maglev Express - Cost: $70bn (Based on established construction costs). At $70bn, it's tantalizingly affordable by the standards of this roundup: a train that could beat airliners from one side of the country to the other. Many agree that Maglev has enormous potential. Bite-sized examples are in operation all over the world. Birmingham, England, had the first in the 1980s, though the promise of airliner-like speeds on land is still unrealized. The British system sped along at a pathetic 26MPH and was designed to get air travelers to the planes, not to outrun them.'"

Comments

two easy-to-verify facts

[Scrameustache]

And for the poster above who gives the usual slashdot antiwar rant... of what use is a Maglev is some asshat blows it the hell up? IRAQ HAS NEVER ATTACKED THE UNITED STATES
IRAQ HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9-11

Re:More to it that speed

[Skippy_kangaroo]

Actually - they are usually failsafe. You don't need residual power.

Think about what that means - their failure mode is safe. It is a well established design and engineering principle.

For example, the brakes are held open by compressed air. If something goes wrong the compressed air supply shuts off and the brakes stop the train.