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Hyperloop One's Full-Scale Pod Reaches 192 MPH In New Nevada Track Test (techcrunch.com)

On July 29, 2017, Hyperloop One competed a test at its full-scale Nevada test track that travelled a high speed, running nearly the entirety of the 500 meter (1640 foot) test route. "XP-1, the company's first Hyperloop pod, reached speeds of up to 192 mph during the test, which is getting closer to the planned functional speeds of future Hyperloop installations planned for Dubai elsewhere," reports TechCrunch. From the report: The new test breaks the recorded speed record for any Hyperloop tests ever conducted, including those done by research organizations participating in SpaceX's pod design competition. It was conducted on July 29, 2017, and included a 300 meter acceleration phase, with gradual breaking to come to a stop after that point. Hyperloop One depressurized the tube for the test track down to conditions similar to those at 200,000 feet above sea level, which is part of the Earth's atmosphere where there is very little friction and resistance to the rarified air. The company says that all aspects of the system, from motors, to electronics, to the vacuum pump and magnetic levitation mechanism worked well during the test.

249 comments

  1. First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by John+Allsup · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not content with smashing elementary subatomic particles, not content even with accelerating protons or lead ions, now they want to accelerate people, inside long evacuated tubes, to ridiculous speeds.

    --
    John_Chalisque
    1. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 1

      And his cars already go Ludicrous Speed! Meesa worried about Annie in Hyperloop One Full Scale pod.

    2. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Springfield is getting a monorail.

      WOOHOO!!

    3. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And similarly, the black holes associated with those accelerated people will surely engulf us all!

    4. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Kjella · · Score: 1

      Then set up a collider and sensors to see where all the parts splatter and... wait, where were you going with this analogy?

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    5. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ewww, that joke is 24 years old. It smells funny.

    6. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, these guys say it's perfectly safe.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    7. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Mikkeles · · Score: 1

      Hey, If I ever need to travel 500 m in short order. I know where to go!

      --
      Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
    8. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      192 MPH is a ridiculous speed? My car can almost do that.

      I guess you've never been on an airplane either.

    9. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But just think of all the discoveries we can make in the field of ragdoll physics!

    10. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by NicknameUnavailable · · Score: 0

      The LHC is to physics what the Hyperloop is to psychology.

    11. Re: First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thugs are bullies that grow up. Treat bullies and you will be rid of thugs.

      A bully is a kid with suppressed empathy and an abnormal fear of not being dominant. An empathic person who cares, leads and looks out for them can cure this.

    12. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by infolation · · Score: 1

      Or, more relevantly, the Tohoku Shinkansen.

    13. Re:First LEP, then LHC, now Hyerloop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you say monorail? !

  2. *yawn* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    It's still slower than bullet trains, Formula 1 cars, Indycars, and even the stock cars in NASCAR. Let me know when they've finally achieved something worthwhile.

    1. Re:*yawn* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why bother letting you know? Once it gets faster and meets your arbitrary goal, you will promptly invent a new goal, objection or difficulty.

    2. Re:*yawn* by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      Let us know when you've achieved anything worthwhile in your life.

    3. Re: *yawn* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't worry. I am sure that the ppl of hyperloop are just dying to tell a bunch of prick ACs that they got what you want.

      Um wait....

      I guess they really do not give a fuck about twats like you.

    4. Re:*yawn* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, I banged your mother. That must count for something.

    5. Re: *yawn* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They'll never succeed though. We'll have practical space flight way before this gets anywhere. With space flight brings the ability to cross vast distances in short periods of time. At which point, the flexibility and energy efficiency will kill this nonsense off. That's assuming that the company hasn't realized that it's impossible.

      For shorter distances a modern train it's more than good enough and not prone to killing everybody onboard if it derails.

    6. Re:*yawn* by 91degrees · · Score: 1

      It's only a test of concept.

    7. Re:*yawn* by dave420 · · Score: 1

      You are comparing the very first full-scale prototype with finished, mature products. That's obviously ridiculous.

    8. Re:*yawn* by Verdatum · · Score: 1

      It really isn't though. The project has yet to do anything interesting or novel. And there are massive engineering hurdles that may not have any feasibly priced answer, and they've yet to address this. The prototype as shown in the photograph doesn't even have an attempt at a mechanism to allow people or cargo to enter and exit the vehicle without losing pressure and pumpdown takes hours with just that tiny stretch of track. I wouldn't be surprised if the vehicle didn't even have a pressurized chamber inside. They have ZERO business bothering with full scale at this phase. The only reason why they are is because they are drowning in venture capitalism funds.

    9. Re:*yawn* by Dread_ed · · Score: 1

      Your list of problems have immediately obvious answers. And, the reasons why they are doing things this way is really easy to understand.

      Are you incredibly short sighted or just trying to be negative about everything? Are you generally a negative person? Do you always see how easily explained and fixed problems can go wrong instead of right? Do you not use duct tape and super glue to fix things, instead using staples and scotch tape, only to see the shitty repairs you made fall apart literally in front of your face?

      --
      When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
    10. Re:*yawn* by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Nothing novel? You either don't know what that word means or are not familiar with this project. Pick one.

    11. Re:*yawn* by Verdatum · · Score: 1

      They put a maglev in a vacuum chamber. We've had maglevs fielded, carrying passengers since 1979. So that's not new. There was no particular engineering problem that needed to be solved to move that technology into a vacuum chamber. So nothing new there. They haven't done anything new.

    12. Re:*yawn* by Verdatum · · Score: 1

      As a matter of fact, I'm an engineer and fabricator. I know metalworking, machining, welding, blacksmithing, fiberglass composites, autobody restoration, greensand pattern-making, and metalcasting, resin-casting, and moldmaking. When I fix things you can't tell it was ever broken. I'm a very positive person and I know that amazing things can be done. I built my own high-vacuum chamber. High-vacuum means it has both regular rotary-vane roughing pump and a high-power diffusion pump that brings the vacuum so low that it cannot be measured by mechanical means. On my first attempt, I didn't bother to do the math, and went with a stock-pot whose walls were too thin. The thing crushed on me on my second pumpdown test. It went off like a gunshot. I'm intimately aware with the forces involved that must be appreciated to make this feasible. The mechanical feedthrough (that's the technical term) problem is solvable, but absolutely nontrivial. So far, all they've done is put a maglev train in a vacuum chamber. No one has ever doubted that this could be done. We've had maglev trains carrying actual passengers since 1978. A proper engineering endeavor would start demonstrating this idea in small-scale. It saves tons of money to solve as many problems as possible in the small scale and only go to full-scale when the physics demands it. These guys went full-scale early because they've got $150 million dollars to play around with, and because they want still more money, and so they're doing full-scale demos because they look more impressive. But they've yet to solve any new engineering challenge. They try to tout this as their kitty-hawk moment. But it isn't. It's an unmanned person sized maglev in a tube. Send a human down it safely and I'll be impressed. Design a tube that can withstand a car crashing into it without collapsing, made from materials that can be cheap enough to be feasible and I'll be impressed. Or design a feasible solution for emergency exits. Or demonstrate a bellows mechanism that can allow for thermal expansion and contraction that is able to flex for a year or more while outside in California weather and still hold a vacuum without leaking. Show me that the numbers crunch in such a way that they don't have to have a massive volume of passengers being charged $2k per ticket in order to break even.

  3. Reality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope they are actively working on the airlocks because (I predict) that's going to be the most troublesome part of the system, in practice.

    1. Re: Reality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh shit! Good thing random fat fuck internet faqgot was here to remind them! I'm sure they haven't even considered it until you put down your sandwich and chimed in, you fucking imbecile.

    2. Re:Reality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, I'm sure they'll just gloss over the airlocks. Who needs tests for something so simple?

    3. Re: Reality by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      Probably not. It will be switching esp if done at high speeds.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  4. Something new? by msauve · · Score: 4, Funny

    "New Nevada Track Test"

    I'd like to welcome our most recent member - New Nevada, which joins New England, New Jersey, New York and New Mexico in making news!

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    1. Re:Something new? by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, no, no. it's:

      NevadaTestTrack nevadaTestTrack = new NevadaTestTrack("Hyperloop One");

    2. Re: Something new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      error 1:32: type NevadaTestTrack* can not be implicitly converted to NevadaTestTrack

    3. Re:Something new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      New Nevada is clearly an independent nation on Mars, from the future. So these news are really, really fresh.

    4. Re: Something new? by Whatsmynickname · · Score: 1

      C++ or C#? Wouldn't this be valid in C#?

    5. Re: Something new? by ls671 · · Score: 1

      The guy is obviously using java.

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    6. Re: Something new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The guy is obviously using pot.

      package nevadaTestTrack;

      public class NevadaTestTrack {

              public NevadaTestTrack() {
                      NevadaTestTrack nevadaTestTrack = new NevadaTestTrack("Hyperloop One");
              }

              public NevadaTestTrack(String x) {

              }

      }

    7. Re: Something new? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Or C#, or plenty of other languages that would look exactly the same on this level.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    8. Re: Something new? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      I guess it's C#, then it would be valid.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re:Something new? by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Swift:

      let nevadaTestTrack = NevadaTestTrack("Hyperloop One")

    10. Re: Something new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Syntactically correct C#? Perhaps.
      Valid C# - t'aint no such thang!

  5. I have verbal confirmation from Mr Government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    To dig a hyper loop hole from santas workshop to didney worl

    1. Re: I have verbal confirmation from Mr Government by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      also didndu nuffin

  6. Vacuums suck by ebonum · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They are expensive, temperamental, inefficient, and there is a reason scientists say "Nature abhors a vacuum".

    All I can say is, "I want the contract to maintain the 1,000's of miles of vacuum tube!"

    1. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >They are expensive

      Bingo. This shit ain't for the poors... Think Concorde.

    2. Re:Vacuums suck by serviscope_minor · · Score: 4, Funny

      and there is a reason scientists say "Nature abhors a vacuum".

      They do? 99.99999999999999999% of nature is hard vacuum. Just not where we want it.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    3. Re:Vacuums suck by Kjella · · Score: 1

      They do? 99.99999999999999999% of nature is hard vacuum. Just not where we want it.

      *draws a deep breath* I'm quite happy with where it's not.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    4. Re:Vacuums suck by Wraithlyn · · Score: 2

      The well known problems with full vacuum tubes are the entire point of the Hyperloop's design, which uses low pressure (1 millibar) instead of full vacuum.

      --
      "Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
    5. Re:Vacuums suck by sexconker · · Score: 1

      and there is a reason scientists say "Nature abhors a vacuum".

      They do? 99.99999999999999999% of nature is hard vacuum. Just not where we want it.

      Yet 100% of nature is not a vacuum.

    6. Re:Vacuums suck by Nethemas+the+Great · · Score: 1

      They're far less problematic when you're not creating a "hard" vacuum as is the case with Hyperloops.

      --
      Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
    7. Re:Vacuums suck by sconeu · · Score: 4, Funny

      The well known problems with full vacuum tubes are the entire point of the Hyperloop's design, which uses low pressure (1 millibar) instead of full vacuum.

      This is why they should transistorize it instead of using vacuum tubes.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    8. Re: Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you are an ab whore.

    9. Re: Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a moot point. Even at that pressure it's going to take a ridiculous amount of energy to work.

    10. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are expensive, temperamental, inefficient,

      What, temperamental and expensive? Only if you need ultrahigh vacuum systems beyond 10^-6 torr (a billionth of an atmosphere), and even then it still off the shelf equipment for several orders of magnitude below that. If you're just trying to get to millitorr range, it is simple industrial equipment, including a lot of efficient options for large scale operation (staged/parallel systems that switch on and off as needed).

      I'm not saying it is a guarantee to be cheap enough, but it comes down to gritty details, just like if evaluating the cost of maintaining normal rail. You have to go through the numbers and do the engineering, but that is a long ways from saying it is impossible because people who never worked with vacuum systems view them as black magic.

    11. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I vacuumed a bear once. It was not appreciative.

    12. Re:Vacuums suck by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      No, no, no, that's not what it means. It just means that Nature has notoriously dirty editorial offices.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    13. Re:Vacuums suck by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Transistors are a pretty solid choice, but not for mobility.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    14. Re:Vacuums suck by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      They're far less problematic when you're not creating a "hard" vacuum as is the case with Hyperloops.

      A perfect vacuum is impossible on Earth anyway. Even the metal tube will give off atoms. The point is that even an imperfect but high vacuum poses a lot of difficulty.

    15. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to cut you off or anything, but in the interest of knowledge gain, transistors are positively noted for their dependence on (electron) mobility. -PCP

    16. Re:Vacuums suck by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      One of the convenient aspects is that when the tube springs a leak, the best place to patch it from is the outside. (Provided it's not a buried tube.) And the pressure helps the patch seal.

      Which means for small leaks, there's not even any need to suspend the service whilst repairs are going on.

    17. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The point is that even an imperfect but high vacuum poses a lot of difficulty.

      Vacuum tecniques and technologies tends to have some abrupt steps in difficulty and costs at different pressures. When talking about actual vacuum (not say flue exhaust or fan/aspirator pull), the first big step occurs around the range of one millionth of an atmosphere, where cheap mechanical pumps struggle. It sounds like they are targeting orders of magnitude high pressure than that. At that point it is just about making a long tube that can handle 100 kPa, which isn't large by industrial standards, even for large pipes. One would have to go several orders of magnitude in the other direction to get where vacuum work is more interesting and difficult, more toward a billionth of an atmosphere for where specializing seals, pumping systems start to get used, material treatment start to get used.

    18. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://www.xkcd.com/669/

    19. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also a perfect vacuum is impossible.

    20. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Solid matter transport is a tough problem to crack.

    21. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean not 100% of nature is a vacuum.

      Saying 100% of nature is not a vacuum is proven false by the counter example of outer space.

    22. Re:Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      99.99999999999999999% of nature is hard vacuum.

      ...well that sucks!

    23. Re:Vacuums suck by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Don't vacuum tubes have higher electron mobility? That's what I had in mind.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    24. Re:Vacuums suck by cthulhu11 · · Score: 1

      My first thought was just how impractical maintaining something like that across distance will be. When someone runs a truck into a pier and shifts that tube a few inches, when a small quake shifts two tubes by a few inches ... I sure as hell don't want to be barreling toward the inflection point at that speed.

      https://www.exploratorium.edu/...

    25. Re: Vacuums suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'll just wait until they start using transistor-based hyperloops. At least the first generation will be sought after for generations for its warmer travel properties.

  7. Dubai elsewhere? by chuckugly · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I want to know where Dubai elsewhere can be found on the map.

    1. Re: Dubai elsewhere? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The burj khalifa is in my pants

    2. Re: Dubai elsewhere? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is it miniature?

    3. Re:Dubai elsewhere? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's just south of Dubai erewhon.

    4. Re: Dubai elsewhere? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's the same size as Twitler's. Bring your microscope if you want to see it. And #SwampThing.

  8. Why the surprise by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    It turns out there are a lot of people what need smashin'

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re: Why the surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The morons mixed up braking/breaking and "rarefied" means the opposite of their faulty usage.

      What a bunch of Africoons!

    2. Re: Why the surprise by nitehawk214 · · Score: 1

      According to The Hulk, yes.

      --
      I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
    3. Re: Why the surprise by nukenerd · · Score: 2

      The morons mixed up braking/breaking and "rarefied" means the opposite of their faulty usage.

      I'm in the UK and I see "breaking" (= destroying) so often used for "braking" (= reducing speed) that I'm beginning to think it is just the American spelling. Is this so?

    4. Re: Why the surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only in public school standards set by the last administration, which is funny because most educators (and their unions) are Democrats, but rather than make stricter guidelines that require a lot more higher quality teachers they vote for stuff that dumbs down the curriculum. I guess they are choosing making their life easier by having no accountability.

    5. Re: Why the surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh please, you do realize that education in the US has little to do with the federal government, right? That's been true going back to the beginning of public schools in the colonial era.

      The issue here is that the teachers are expected to spend so much time on accountability that nothing gets done. A solid 2 months out of the school year get wasted on those tests that W thought were a great idea. Between the actual tests and the time that's devoted to making sure the students know how to take them and the time that it takes to coach them on how to pass them.

      The problem is ultimately people like you that are more interested in making pot shots at the teachers than making sure they have the funding and training necessary to do the job well.

    6. Re: Why the surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, just stupid 'Mericans. We got plenty. Yownt some?

    7. Re: Why the surprise by rpstrong · · Score: 1

      "Rarefied", as applied to air, means thin or low pressure (source: multiple online dictionaries). How is this being misused?

    8. Re: Why the surprise by PlaynBass · · Score: 1

      No, the writer just used the wrong word. It's what happens when the English language curriculum is dumbed down to improve test scores. Most teachers don't have time to teach or even require the correct spellings of words anymore, much less the proper use of the rules of English grammar. Welcome to life in MAGA-world!

      --
      PlaynBass
  9. Can't you editors even use the right word? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    with gradual breaking to come to a stop

    Goddamnit.. the word is braking.

    1. Re:Can't you editors even use the right word? by aevan · · Score: 1

      I don't know...maybe they plan on making their money back on repair/maintenance? Full refits per run could be rather lucrative.

    2. Re:Can't you editors even use the right word? by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      with gradual breaking to come to a stop

      Goddamnit.. the word is braking.

      That's what I thought at first too, but perhaps we misunderstood. In actuality there was a slow leak which eventually caused a loss of vacuum and the voltage in the maglev unintentionally dropped slowly toward the end of the test, which brought the pod to a gradual stop.

    3. Re:Can't you editors even use the right word? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're fired. Clear out your desk by close of business today.

    4. Re:Can't you editors even use the right word? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      It depends, it could also stop because there was gradual breaking of the track/vessel

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    5. Re:Can't you editors even use the right word? by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      In fairness, that was accurately quoted from the article. A [sic] would have been nice, granted.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    6. Re:Can't you editors even use the right word? by johnsie · · Score: 1

      That's a fine example of Muphry's Law. You used the incorrect number of periods.

    7. Re:Can't you editors even use the right word? by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Is that anything like Murphy's law?

    8. Re:Can't you editors even use the right word? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's the "editorial application of the better-known Murphy's Law."

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry's_law

  10. Cue the doubters, every step of the way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It's not fast enough
    It's not long enough
    You can't get permission to build it
    It's too dangerous
    It's too noisy
    It's too expensive
    It doesn't cover everyone's needs
    Elon Musk ... (fill in your own ad hominem)

    Slashdot, proudly fighting progress for 20 years.

    1. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by sexconker · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's not fast enough
      It's not long enough
      You can't get permission to build it
      It's too dangerous
      It's too noisy
      It's too expensive
      It doesn't cover everyone's needs
      Elon Musk ... (fill in your own ad hominem)

      Slashdot, proudly fighting progress for 20 years.

      Curmudgeony old coots, accurately calling out pie-in-the-sky bullshit for thousands of years,

      But hey, I'm sure that battery breakthrough is right around the corner.

    2. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thrashbargs unite!

    3. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by ChatHuant · · Score: 1, Informative

      Curmudgeony old coots, accurately calling out pie-in-the-sky bullshit

      Yeah, I remember for example Slashdot calling Apple on their pie-in-the-sky bullshit iPod when it first launched. Boy, was that an accurate call and no mistake!

    4. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by sconeu · · Score: 1

      No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    5. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by sexconker · · Score: 1

      And where is the iPod now, hmm?

      That's right - all but dead!

    6. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      But hey, I'm sure that battery breakthrough is right around the corner.

      So you're saying you think there have been no battery improvements (or solar, etc.) in the last 20 years?

    7. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by Z80a · · Score: 1

      For every successful "pie in the sky" project, there are 100 that failed horribly but nobody remembers BECAUSE they failed horribly.
      Just ask RCA about their CED systems.

    8. Re: Cue the doubters, every step of the way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      To be fair, I don't think anybody was expecting so many people to be so stupid or for the doj to look the other way as Apple abused it's music store by locking up popular music and refusing to support other players.

    9. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's only because most of the folks who were using iPods just switched to using their iPhones for music. -PCP

    10. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by JasterBobaMereel · · Score: 1

      iPod. .. an MP3 player that was no better than the already existing competition, used an applauding app to upload, was more expensive than the competition

      It was not unique, it was using tried and tested and already available technology

      It failed in every way except in marketing ... ...Hyperloop is doing some things that are tried and tested, and not doing them well
            and some things that are not tried and tested and doing them badly

      --
      Puteulanus fenestra mortis
    11. Re: Cue the doubters, every step of the way by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and "I don't think anyone was expecting..." is the same reason the Slashdot hive mind is usually wrong.

      The rule of thumb is: if it's FOSS/Linux, Slashdot vastly overestimates how successful it will be. If it's not FOSS/Linux, they underestimate it.

    12. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Other examples are the several Linux based consoles over the years that Slashdot has thought would be successful, that failed with hardly a whimper.

    13. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Do you know that Slashdot's track record is good, or is it a guess?

    14. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > It failed in every way except in marketing ...

      That's an interesting way of saying "people liked it and wanted to buy it."

      If you consider sales as a measure of quality, the iPod was certainly "better" than already existing competition.

    15. Re: Cue the doubters, every step of the way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, and "I don't think anyone was expecting..." is the same reason the Slashdot hive mind is usually wrong.

      The rule of thumb is: if it's an Elon Musk insane plan, Slashdot vastly overestimates how successful it will be. If it's not an Elon Musk insane plan, they underestimate it.

      FTFY

      this place is such a Elon is god circle jerk it makes it hard to read somedays

    16. Re:Cue the doubters, every step of the way by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      used an applauding app to upload

      One hand clapping?

  11. China Rail by WankerWeasel · · Score: 1

    High speed rail in China already goes 190-220mph. Exactly how is this better?

    1. Re:China Rail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      The team believes they’d need an additional 2,000 meters (about 1.2 miles) of track to achieve a max theoretical speed of 700 mph for the test pod, which is what it could possible reach in real-world commercial systems.

    2. Re:China Rail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will be more smaller and expensive.
      Hypno-Toad says it makes sense if you don't think about it.

    3. Re:China Rail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Elon Musk invented it so it must be the most amazing thing since sliced bread!

    4. Re:China Rail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because the proposed top speed is 760mph, not 192mph. It's just quite hard to get up to that speed on a 500m track.

      Chinese HS rail is much more maintainable than Hyperloop tubes, especially in a country full of angry rednecks with rifles. But I want to believe, and if Musk wants to spend his money on it, more power to him.

    5. Re:China Rail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      High speed rail in China already goes 190-220mph. Exactly how is this better?

      It's not in China. Obviously.

    6. Re:China Rail by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      Rednecks with rifles have existed since rifles were invented and yet the world seems to function.

    7. Re:China Rail by avandesande · · Score: 1

      those are Chinese MPH and are subject to usual exaggeration

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    8. Re:China Rail by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      They should have built a circular track. If it's good enough for CERN, it's good enough for Elon "stinky" Musk.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    9. Re: China Rail by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      It is already cheaper and safer than any HST out there.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    10. Re: China Rail by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      Iirc, The top speed of 760 mph was based on pressure = 150k feet altitude. They are going over 200,000 feet, which should allow for faster speeds.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    11. Re:China Rail by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      Elon Musk invented it so it must be the most amazing thing since sliced bread!

      The Musk bread slicer passes each loaf through a grid of lasers, so that the bread comes out sliced and toasted.

    12. Re:China Rail by BoogieChile · · Score: 1

      Are you saying you have no familiarity with iterating towards an objective?

    13. Re:China Rail by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Funny. And the 192 MPH are Trump MPH's, so in fact there was no pod and it wasn't moving :-)

    14. Re:China Rail by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      It is a test. Who cares if it is "better"? It is an experiment to see what the problems are.
      Did you ever accelerate on 500 yards to nearly 200mph and braked down to zero again? I guess you lack imagination (science knowledge) to grasp what a deed that already is.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    15. Re:China Rail by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      No, that are german maglev trains, moron. Google "trans rapid" or "transrapid".

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    16. Re:China Rail by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Oval, lozenge, or some other closed shape would be a better test.

      As any Hornby or Scalextric fan could tell you.

    17. Re: China Rail by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Or maybe they are just allowing tolerance for leaks.

    18. Re:China Rail by avandesande · · Score: 1

      It was a joke.

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    19. Re:China Rail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you don't have to punch through air, and you're a maglev to boot ... the only energy you need to expend after reaching VMax is inefficiencies in the magnetic electric systems. Basically imagine airplanes without the cost of fuel, nor the cost of making them super duper ultra light.

    20. Re:China Rail by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      Chinese HS rail is much more maintainable than Hyperloop tubes, especially in a country full of angry rednecks with rifles.

      It's an inch-thick steel tube. Do you know what happens when a rifle bullet hits inch-thick steel? It bounces. If you hit it at just the right angle, it bounces back directly at the idiot who fired it. There's video on YouTube of some moron who can't do math firing a 50 caliber round at a steel plate. If the plate had been just a hair closer to perpendicular to his rifle barrel, he'd be dead and the video would have been taken off of YouTube. As it was, he got incredibly lucky and lived.

      We're not talking about a stop sign here. For all intents and purposes, we're talking about armor plate. Angry rednecks with rifles are irrelevant.

  12. This by s.petry · · Score: 2

    Trains are problematic in the US for numerous reasons, so even having a "fast" train won't solve many issues. Japan has a functional train system with cities designed around them. citation but once you need to get away from the main train station the novelty of trains quickly wears off.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:This by AlanObject · · Score: 1

      Japan has a functional train system with cities designed around them.

      Not exactly. At the beginning their towns and cities were destroyed to make train lines to no small effect on the people whose land was needed. That's true everywhere but in the U.S. you seem to have more problems than elsewhere getting land from trains.

    2. Re:This by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      The US has a nasty history of enormous land grabs for railroads. there is no need to repeat that history.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    3. Re:This by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Trains are problematic in the US for numerous reasons, so even having a "fast" train won't solve many issues. Japan has a functional train system with cities designed around them.

      That's because the rest of the world has had trains for a long time, and the US is brand new to this.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    4. Re:This by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trains are problematic in the US for numerous reasons, so even having a "fast" train won't solve many issues. Japan has a functional train system with cities designed around them.

      That's because the rest of the world has had trains for a long time, and the US is brand new to this.

      Wow. In what alternate universe do you reside where this is true?

      (I remember seeing an infographic back in the 80s or so that showed a then-and-now "map" of the relative rail density in the US in the 60s and 80s. We've dismantled something like 80% of our rail capacity. There's a difference, IMO, between "being new to this" and having dismantled our infrastructure [in favor of highways and trucking].)

    5. Re:This by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Trains are problematic in the US for numerous reasons, so even having a "fast" train won't solve many issues. Japan has a functional train system with cities designed around them.

      That's because the rest of the world has had trains for a long time, and the US is brand new to this.

      Wow. In what alternate universe do you reside where this is true?

      (I remember seeing an infographic back in the 80s or so that showed a then-and-now "map" of the relative rail density in the US in the 60s and 80s. We've dismantled something like 80% of our rail capacity. There's a difference, IMO, between "being new to this" and having dismantled our infrastructure [in favor of highways and trucking].)

      It was a sarcastic remark to the idea that Japan has a functional train system with cities built around them, which implies that we don't. Trains have an integral part in the history of North America,

      America has at least one political party that views trains with a jaundiced eyes, probably left over from the heyday of trains here, when that party wanted to be sure to bust the unions that were involved with the train industry. That's an educated guess. At this time we are slowly coming around to the idea of train transportation again, but it will take a while. I would wager that most of the world will have hyperloops in daily service -while here in the US, we'll still have half of us saying that "Hyperloops will never work."

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    6. Re:This by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Definitions of "functional" vary when it comes to Japan. JR has had a lot of financial troubles and probably will have more in the future. Some see this as okay and are fine with trains needing subsidies from the government. Others see it as a failure, as propping up a losing system.

      JR does really well with local routes and near by cities. But especially for the Shinkansen, air travel is cheaper for all but some short trips. If you have money, the comfort is nicer (well, if you get the reserved car... not so nice when stuck on a crowded train without reservations) and faster assuming you going downtown to downtown on a short trip. As elsewhere though, price is what it comes down to most people. I'm happy I can qualify for a JR pass as a foreigner, or get my employer to pay for tickets on business trips. My colleagues and friends there on the other hand lament about how they only use the Shinkansen when splurging on a vacation and otherwise suffer through airline flights otherwise when traveling for work or family because of costs.

    7. Re: This by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well that's not true. In the U.K., in the 60s, Beeching caused much of the existing infrastructure to be removed (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeching_cuts). More recently, completely new infrastructure built the 350kph (217 mph) London to Paris/Brussels lines (Eurostar), and currently there is planning for s similar speed line London-Manchester. Stop making excuses and just get in with it. Eurostar has totally out performed the airlines and you could expect something between many US cities.

    8. Re:This by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

      I'm pretty sure Japan had cities before they where "designed around trains" (what ever that is supposed to mean).

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    9. Re:This by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Rofl, that is bollocks.

      Do you really think they had no trains before WWII? Or the rest of the world? Germany was quite destroyed too ... but funnily most main stations are still at the same spot they where before the war. One notable exception is the Berlin main statin because it is a new one (the old one still exists, though).

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    10. Re:This by AlanObject · · Score: 1

      Japan has many rail lines that did not exist before WWII. And they tore down lots of buildings owned by people to make them. Do you really think they had no growth since WWII? Rofl, that is bollocks.

      Of course the kept many of the older lines and abandoned others. You can take a tour of them and there is such a thing as train otaku. There is also a recent anime all about their trains called Rail Wars.

      Side note: there is a guy who survived the bomb on Hiroshima, then took the train to Nagasaki where later he survived the bomb there. I forget his name at the moment but he was living a few years ago still.

    11. Re:This by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Wrong! The biggest issue with trains in the US can be discovered with a basic Geography class. See post here. I have no idea how you missed so much US history, but we had enormous use of trains from he 1800s to mid/later 1900s. The advent and improvement of commercial airplanes reduced our dependency on trains greatly.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    12. Re:This by Verdatum · · Score: 1

      Hyperloop shares the same problems that trains have, and adds more problems on top of that. Massive near-vacuum chambers are seriously fragile things. I wanna see a pumped down sample tube, including expansion joints, hit by a vehicle driving at Interstate speeds and not crush. I wanna see what happens to one shot with a rifle. Then I wanna see real numbers on the cost-per-mile to build at that level of resistance.

    13. Re:This by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Of course they have new rail lines. But those are outside of the cities.
      The parent who claimed they build cities around rails is just dumb.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    14. Re: This by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      Stop making excuses and just get in with it. Eurostar has totally out performed the airlines and you could expect something between many US cities.

      Come on now - what I wrote doesn't even rise to the level of a Poe. Its pretty obvious that the US was a world leader at one time in installing ad using train transportation. The idea that we need to catch up with the rest of the world because we don't have any experience in train transportation is silly.

      The reason that the US is behind the curve with high speed trains is because we have lost the will to do such things, and are well along the way to ceding technological superiority to the rest of the world.

      That isn't sarcasm.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    15. Re:This by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I have no idea how you missed so much US history

      I have no idea how you missed severely obvious sarcasm.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    16. Re:This by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Without an indicator, no, it is not possible to catch sarcasm on certain subjects. If you have not seen or noticed the constant and chronic anti-America posts, they have become quite prevalent virtually everywhere in media.

      Before you say something like "but my post was obviously ludicrous" (which it was knowing it was sarcasm) just remember that genders are infinite and not controlled by biology, UBI and Socialism are "fixes" for the US, and paying money to invisible entities fixes all of our climate woes. (some sarcasm also, just in case)

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    17. Re:This by s.petry · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure Japan had cities before they where "designed around trains" (what ever that is supposed to mean).

      Ahh, so you are ignorant. "I'm pretty sure Japan had cities before" No kidding?!?! So did Germany, France, Russia, and even the US, as well as every other country that has trains.

      "designed around trains" (what ever that is supposed to mean) Based on history, I'm guessing your rhetorical statement is being an ass instead of actually asking what it means, but I can still try to educate the innocent. If you travel to Japan you will notice that Train stations are A) very large B) sit in the city centers, C) are well maintained (clean), and D) contain much more than trains and access to them. The train stations have dozens of stores, restaurants, and other shops in addition to the ticket booths, help counters, and guards (the latter 2 not very common in the US at all).

      I'll compare that to DC's Metro, and CA's BART, VTA, and Caltrain. Train stations sit in the cheapest property next to very little. Usually a bus pickup location, but not much else. Since people use them to commute only, they tend to be filthy and less secure than anywhere else in a city. You are lucky to have functional vending machines in a US train station, and even luckier to find a small shop to buy a sandwich. In fact between Caltrain, VTA, and Bart I know of 2 whole stations between SF and San Jose with 3 whole shops between them. VTA and BART generally don't even have a rest room at their stops, let alone a vending machine. (VTA being much worse than BART)

      Since train stations were part of the city and built to be more than just pick up and drop off spots, the cities grew around the train stations. Quite literally, the largest buildings and more expensive property in Osaka and Kobe sit closer to the train station, and as you move further away the buildings get smaller and cheaper.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    18. Re:This by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Point is:
      first there were cities.
      then there came rails and train stations.

      So: cities are not designed around railways.

      Our parent is a moron, and your explanation is common knowledge, I don't live in the US.

      Since train stations were part of the city and built to be more than just pick up and drop off spots, the cities grew around the train stations. Quite literally, the largest buildings and more expensive property in Osaka and Kobe sit closer to the train station, and as you move further away the buildings get smaller and cheaper.
      Yes, but in ancient times there were small buildings and some guy simply build a train station there. So what is your point? The city was there first, then came the train station. It never happens other way around.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    19. Re:This by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Point is:

      You are an idiot? Lets see..

      first there were cities.
      then there came rails and train stations.

      So: cities are not designed around railways.

      Yes they are. Contrary to your asinine assertion, cities are not stagnant and formed with all buildings and transit systems in place. Cities are in a constant state of change, _primarily_ based on transportation and changes to the transportation _systems_ available.

      Since train stations were part of the city and built to be more than just pick up and drop off spots, the cities grew around the train stations. Quite literally, the largest buildings and more expensive property in Osaka and Kobe sit closer to the train station, and as you move further away the buildings get smaller and cheaper.

      Yes, but in ancient times there were small buildings and some guy simply build a train station there. So what is your point? The city was there first, then came the train station. It never happens other way around.

      And as with above, the city existing does not mean it did not grow and change over time. To make such an assertion is simply absurd. Perhaps you should get a grasp on basic words, like "grow". You see, a child grows up. In order for that to happen, the child must exist. Saying a child can't grow up around pets because the child already existed would be a moronic statement made by a loon worthy of institutionalization. If that last word is too big for you, change it to "special person's home".

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    20. Re:This by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      I did not say the cities never changed over time.

      I simply pointed out that the parent who claimed: "the cities are build around train stations" is wrong.

      No idea about what you want to argue.

      I repeat: Yes, but in ancient times there were small buildings and some guy simply build a train station there. So what is your point? The city was there first, then came the train station. It never happens other way around.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    21. Re: This by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While I agree wih your comments wrt BART, DC metro can get you right to the middle of pretty much all the interestimg neighborhoods in the city except Georgetown, along with all the major gov't destinations. The L'Enfant plan means a major gridded system like NY's will never be feasible, but maintenance issues aside, it's a very good system. And TONS of people ride it regularly.

    22. Re:This by s.petry · · Score: 1

      I simply pointed out that the parent who claimed: "the cities are build around train stations" is wrong.

      Which was my post and I have defended it to your "nuh uh, I'm putting my head in the sand" defense a few times. Your latest answer, more "nuh uh, I'm putting my head in the sand.

      Nobody claimed that cities would not be there without train stations in Japan, so you are arguing against terminology not used. That aside, in larger countries like Russia and the US cities _DID_ grow up literally because of train stations and would not have existed without them. That was not mentioned because the US does not have successful commuter rail.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    23. Re:This by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Anyway, if you wanted to argue about that you could have worded it better.
      In Japan and Europe cities are not build around train stations.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    24. Re:This by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Yes, they are. See the "figurative term" as opposed to "literal term". English must not be your first language.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    25. Re:This by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      English is not my first language.
      Hiwever what you want to imply with figurative versus litteraly is beyond me :) So I guess it is not a language problem but some other communication problem.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    26. Re:This by s.petry · · Score: 1

      If you wish to debate in a language you don't yet master, its a good idea to learn a bit when possible. I speak a bit of German, but won't argue with Germans about the way in which things are said in German.

      Boston grew up around it's ports. That is not literal, meaning the city didn't exist until a port was put in. The city existed before a single dock was ever built. Additional docks meant more roadways, more warehouses, more train/truck garages and maintenance, more housing to support all the workers needed to work all of those things, and of course larger police and fire departments to support those things as well. The same growth can be said for trains, airplanes, and even bus depots in some areas.

      It is more what we would refer to as a symbiotic relationship, but the reality is that a city will grow to meet the available transportation. That is the nature of the figurative term "the city grew up around [insert transportation]".

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    27. Re:This by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      It is more what we would refer to as a symbiotic relationship
      That makes more sense :D

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
  13. VR by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't better VR conferencing make business travel less critical and thus negate much of the need for Hyperloop?

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:VR by Nethemas+the+Great · · Score: 1

      Last I knew you couldn't VR conference a barista or factory worker. I know Japan is experimenting with dinosaurs but, they probably won't translate well for many businesses.

      --
      Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
    2. Re:VR by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Robotic factory workers and vending machine baristas have been around for decades.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    3. Re:VR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wouldn't better VR conferencing make business travel less critical and thus negate much of the need for Hyperloop?

      Spoken like someone that's has never had to deal with a conference call.

    4. Re:VR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are we really so lazy that we now have baristas for vending machines?

    5. Re: VR by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      And yet, we have loads of travel around the world that is 500-1000 miles distance, which is where this excells.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    6. Re:VR by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Me: "Ummm, give me item 4-E"
      Vending Person: "Sorry, it got stuck. That will be $1.50"

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  14. California's "bullet train" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not so much, from reports I've heard. Why can't we get one of these, instead of the stupid sh?t that our idiot government is giving us?

    1. Re: California's "bullet train" by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      If hyperloop really builds out with 2 miles and can show that they are much cheaper, then CA will either switch, OR, musk will start boring between SF to LA, or perhaps LA to SD, and prove this long before cahst starts.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    2. Re:California's "bullet train" by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      You can't blame the infinitely expensive slow bullet train to nowhere on the government, when it's the people who specifically voted it into existence with a ballot measure.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
  15. Pathetic by sexconker · · Score: 1

    It covered nearly the entirety of the 1640 foot meter test track? And hit 192 MPH?

    Let's be generous and say it traveled one third of a mile, and let's assume it accelerated linearly (it didn't) from 0 to an instantaneous peak of 192 MPH, then immediately decelerated linearly back to 0 (and stopped). That gives an average velocity of 96 MPH.

    The thing ran for less than 12.5 seconds.

    1. Re: Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Pathetic." I'm guessing you work in the French fry industry. In the real world, where your first test of complicated things isn't at full scale, we call this both impressive and good news.

    2. Re:Pathetic by mattack2 · · Score: 2

      The Wright Brothers only went 120 feet in 12 seconds. Jeez, what a couple of losers!

    3. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They did it without government money, unlike Langley.

    4. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's be generous and say it traveled one third of a mile, and let's assume it accelerated linearly (it didn't) from 0 to an instantaneous peak of 192 MPH, then immediately decelerated linearly back to 0 (and stopped).

      Ok, lets assume that. Accelerating to 192 mph in 800 ft is almost 2 g. This isn't a roller coaster, so it is hard to believe one should be arguing it should be accelerating any faster than that.

    5. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pathetic? This is on a very short track! Assuming constant acceleration and braking it got to 192mph in well under a quarter mile. That's not quite top fuel dragster acceleration, but it's still very fast (actually somewhat faster than I would like to be accelerated by public transport).

    6. Re:Pathetic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the hell is a "foot meter"?

    7. Re:Pathetic by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      1640 foot meter test track

      Is that longer than a kilometer hogshead?

  16. It sucks by AlanObject · · Score: 0

    Another hyper loop news item thread. And still no mention anywhere about how they are going to deal with the problem of containment failures. Everything else they are doing is basically routine in comparison.

    I am not a naysayer and I would love it if they actually managed to implement this. I just don't see how.

    1. Re:It sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm guessing by something called "engineering", and by not spending all their time posting stupid crap on internet forums.

    2. Re:It sucks by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      I'd be more worried about a propulsion failure. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, and if you exit the vehicle you suffer explosive decompression. If you don't exit the vehicle, you die when your oxygen supply runs out. No thanks.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    3. Re:It sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Explosive decompression only exists in movies and TV. In the real world there's no such thing.

    4. Re: It sucks by WindBourne · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and ppl like you have correctly pointed out that musk would never get a rocket company off the ground, let alone have it be the cheapest and reuse rockets. Likewise, electric cars will never beat ICE and a new car company will never make in America. Thank God that ppl like you exist to mess with the stock market.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    5. Re:It sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you, idiot.

    6. Re:It sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Explosive decompression only exists in movies and TV. In the real world there's no such thing.

      There is, it's just not what people think it is.

    7. Re:It sucks by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      The tube can be rapidly re-pressurized in case of emergencies. That's a key safety feature in case of a vehicle hull breach. Oxygen masks would probably still be required, similar to airlines.

      As far as propulsion failures, I believe each vehicle has on-board power enough to travel to an emergency exit point. No idea about what would happen if the vehicle gets stuck for some other reason, though, or if on-board propulsion fails. Likely, people experience a very long, uncomfortable wait as emergency workers breach the tube and extract them.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    8. Re:It sucks by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      In what way is this a more serious issue than with passenger aircraft? If you have propulsion failure on an aircraft, you have to hope that there's a suitable airport within the range the plane can glide. Exit the vehicle and you fall to your death.

      The hyperloop capsule has it's own air supply. So you can sit there quite a long time with no issue. Meanwhile, the tube can be taken from a vacuum to normal atmospheric conditions.

      Far less hazardous than aircraft.

  17. Driving in circles... by bobbied · · Score: 1

    Going nowhere fast.... Be still my beating heart.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  18. Impressive acceleration by Solandri · · Score: 3, Interesting

    v1^2 - v0^2 = 2ad
    a = (v1^2 - v0^2) / 2d

    v0 = 0
    v1 = 192 MPH
    d = 300 meters

    a = (192 MPH)^2 / (2 * 300 meters) = 12.28 m/s^2
    = 1.25 g
    arctan (1.25 g / 1 g) = 51.3 degrees

    That's gonna be trippy riding inside. Since there are no windows, you only have the apparent direction of gravity (acceleration) to determine "up". It's going to feel like you're in a plane climbing up at a 51 degree angle. That is, anyone trying to stand while this is going on is going to be leaned forward at 51 degrees relative to vertical at rest. (I'll add that the earlier test to 69 MPH in 30 meters is 1.68g, giving an apparent inclination of 58 degrees.)

    1. Re:Impressive acceleration by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      There is no apparent inclination.
      You get pushed into the back, that is all.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    2. Re:Impressive acceleration by geantvert · · Score: 1

      The test track is short so a huge acceleration is currently needed to reach a significant speed. The final version, if it ever exists, will probably require a smaller acceleration but for a longer time.

      Let's assume a desired speed S = 700km/h ~= 200m/s at a constant acceleration A = 0.1g = 1m/s^2 (that is a typical acceleration in a train). The acceleration time is T = S / A = 200 / 1 = 200s = 3m20s. Also the average speed during the acceleration phase is S/2 = 100m/s so the required distance is 100m/s * 200s = 20000m = 20km.

      I am pretty sure that an acceleration of more than 0.1g can be achieved without being too inconvenient. After all, unlike in a classical train, the passengers are supposed to remain sited during 'takeoff' and 'landing'.

      Though, I am wondering how well the hyperloop would be able to manage altitude changes. At 200m/s, each 1% of slope would cause a vertical acceleration of 200*0.01 = 2m/s = 0.2g. At 5% you get 1g. Yeah! Zero gravity if the train goes downhill.

         

    3. Re:Impressive acceleration by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And how is that different from gravity "pushing" you down? Then combine the effects of gravity pushing you down and the acceleration pushing you back, and you do get an apparent inclination. The key word being "apparent".

    4. Re:Impressive acceleration by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      That's gonna be trippy riding inside. ...., anyone trying to stand while this is going on is going to be leaned forward at 51 degrees relative to vertical at rest.

      I don't suppose the passenger version will accelerate that hard. This was to test the behaviour of the hardware at speed. Next step will be to extend the track and reach a higher speed. After that they will need to try a test track with curves. They have not yet begun to address the issue of what people can actually put up with in terms of acceleration (in all three axes) with no reference horizon. They will need some human guinea pigs for that. It did not go too well when high-speed tilting trains were first tried.

    5. Re:Impressive acceleration by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      There is no apparent inclination. You get pushed into the back, that is all.

      That is apparent inclination

    6. Re:Impressive acceleration by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      No it is not, facepalm.
      Why invent stupid as fuck "apparent" things when people involved in the acceleration perfectly now and feel what is going on?
      When my train accelerates, I perfectly know and feel it is going horizontal and not in a stupid apparent inclination.
      If you feel otherwise you should consult a doctor as your balance system is probably damaged.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    7. Re:Impressive acceleration by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, never heard of GR? The only reason you can tell the difference between horizontal acceleration and downward gravity is because of some external reference, which requires a window. There is no way for your balance system to tell the difference, as it is only affected by the the forces associated with your accelerating frame, which is indistinguishable from gravity. It doesn't help that the human body is rather insensitive to reasonable differences in the magnitude of acceleration, but is really sensitive to angle of acceleration (and things like jerk).

  19. Only 192 mph? by manu0601 · · Score: 0

    192 mph (309 km/h) is a nice achievement, but it does not look like a breakthrough. French TGV has been reaching 200 mph (320 km/h) for regular service since 2011, with plain old rails and without vacuum. And there have been tests at much higher speed.

    What is the point of all this stuff if it barely reproduce six years old performance? are there plans to go faster?

    1. Re:Only 192 mph? by Rutulian · · Score: 1

      I was listening to an interview with one of the team members on NPR. Apparently, the biggest problem they face trying to go faster is the test track is too short! In other words, they've built the pods to go faster, but until they upgrade the track they won't be able to test it.

    2. Re:Only 192 mph? by raftpeople · · Score: 1

      Top speed on straightest sections of track will be 760mph, more curvy areas will be around 300mph to reduce lateral g's.

    3. Re: Only 192 mph? by koomba · · Score: 1

      You are at least the 4th or 5th person to say this, like you just shot down the entire project with your genius insight. But if you'd actually RTFA, or read any of the dozen plus articles here on /. In the last couple years, you'd realize the actual planned top speed is 760 MPH.

      So tell me again about "lolz bullet trains OMG have been going this fast for years, Musk is such a retard looool!"

    4. Re:Only 192 mph? by BoogieChile · · Score: 1

      In case it helps you understand what is going on here, the first time the ThrustSSC moved under its own, it hit a whole 70 miles an hour! And that was using technologies that have been around for over 40 years.

      Now you want to do it with an entirely brand new technology. You want them go straight to 310 KM/h, do you?

    5. Re: Only 192 mph? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      760mph makes it more or less worthless. Modern jets can hit nearly 600mph and you can route them between any two airports you like.

      The Concorde could do over 1300mph and be routed between arbitrary airports. So, it's not like we couldn't build airplanes that could hit Hyperloop speeds.

    6. Re:Only 192 mph? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which means that they have been unable to even begin addressing the actual challenge: how to build a vacuum tube of significant length. Even a short one they have now is hilariously expensive.

      Not to even talk about containment problems once it's built and operating.

      These are the main engineering challenges of the project, and they're running tests that are literally irrelevant in comparison. It's very easy to build a vehicle that can move around in near-vacuum environment at reasonably high speed. It's much harder to actually create that kind of environment at sea level air pressure.

    7. Re:Only 192 mph? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      French TGV [wikipedia.org] has been reaching 200 mph (320 km/h) for regular service since 2011

      TGV and Shinkansen have a max acceleration of typically less than 2 m/s^2, and this was accelerating at closer to 15 m/s^2... TGV would not have been able to cover the same short track as fast.

    8. Re:Only 192 mph? by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      The tube was only 500m long ... how much faster do you want to go on such a short distance?

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    9. Re:Only 192 mph? by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      I was listening to an interview with one of the team members .. the biggest problem they face trying to go faster is the test track is too short! In other words, they've built the pods to go faster, but until they upgrade the track they won't be able to test it.

      Thanks for that pearl of wisdom. We didn't realise they need some distance to get up speed. Shame that. OTOH my car can reach 60mph without moving from the spot.

    10. Re:Only 192 mph? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which means that they have been unable to even begin addressing the actual challenge: how to build a vacuum tube of significant length. Even a short one they have now is hilariously expensive.

      Multiple kilometer long vacuum tubes of comparable diameter have already been built for science experiments before, with much more stringent requirements in terms of vacuum qualities, thermal gradients and total thermal expansion. That isn't so much an engineering challenge, as it is a task for an actuary to tally up what is needed and maybe an engineer seeing if there is some room for shaving a little cost off from economy of scale.

    11. Re:Only 192 mph? by Rutulian · · Score: 1

      Absolutely. Long pressurized pipe^H^H^H^H tubes certainly sounds unpossible!
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    12. Re:Only 192 mph? by Rutulian · · Score: 1

      I was more responding to GP's question,

      What is the point of all this stuff if it barely reproduce six years old performance? are there plans to go faster?

      The answer is yes, but the test track is too short currently to develop/demonstrate at those speeds. But thanks for your valuable contribution to the conversation.

  20. One word for that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SPLAT!

  21. throughput? by hackingbear · · Score: 1

    Can someone enlighten me with info about the throughput of this system of small high-speed capsules? A regular trains and airplanes transport large number of people at once, making them economically scalable.

    1. Re:throughput? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It depends on the separation of pods. Let's say that the route of LA->SF is 360 miles and that the separation of pods is 1 mile apart. The speed allows the pods to arrive in 30 minutes, so that is 360 pods every 30 minutes.

      Now let's say the pods hold 20 people each. That's 360*20 = 7,200 people every thirty minutes. Or 24 wide body planes worth of people.

      Now the separation might be more - but this separation is about 30 seconds between pods - which seems like a reasonable rate once a level of comfort is achieved.

      And you might note that the experience of small pods would be a much better one considering that you don't need a ticket for a particular pod - you just arrive and jump on the next one leaving. I content that this scales way better that air traffic.

    2. Re:throughput? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Correction: It is a 5 second separation - not a 30 second separation.

  22. Vacuum in a long tube........ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    .....(hundreds if not one thousand miles) is what Hyperloop needs to demonstrate.
    Robust to various conditions and accidents.
    That is the hard bit.
    If maglev trains can get to hundreds of miles per hour in air they will obviously go faster in vacuum.
    That demonstrates very little.

  23. So, a failure so far by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Speeds that barely beat a Tesla S in open air, and a partial rebuild needed after every trip. Going nowhere fast, except in the money-burning category. Anybody monitoring the luxury purchases of the principals?

  24. Interesting... by DanielNS84 · · Score: 0

    Finally a proper response to the Thunderf00t videos? I've been hoping there would be some sort of refutation of his pretty solid points. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... https://www.youtube.com/watch?... https://www.youtube.com/watch?... Hopefully this has been overcome! These videos worried me!

    1. Re:Interesting... by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      If Thunderrf00t had been around at the beginning of the 20th century, he would have been one of the ones telling everyone that man cannot build a flying machine. And he'd be using math with errors in units to try and prove it.

  25. Beyond "fine red mist" by Chaset · · Score: 1

    If this becomes real, and if there were an accident, I'd hate to be the guy that has to scrape off what's left of the passengers from whatever they collided with. 700mph..cheesh.. a thin layer of organic goo and a fine red mist.

    --
    -- "This world is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel."
    1. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      If two Californians are slammed together at sufficiently high speed, what particle will emerge? A waitron?

    2. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by ls671 · · Score: 1

      No problems! I already run a company that does these kind of cleanups for airplane crashes.

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
    3. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by msauve · · Score: 1

      "700mph..cheesh"

      I agree. Cheesh and Chong were great. Loved their movies.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    4. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by pslytely+psycho · · Score: 1

      Well that makes a certain games sequel obvious:
      Viscera Cleanup Detail Hyperloop Edition.....

      --
      Donald Trump, on a crusade to make Nixon look respectable
    5. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      I'd hate to be the guy that has to scrape off what's left of the passengers f.. a thin layer of organic goo and a fine red mist.

      Sounds easy : hosepipe and an air freshener should do it. It's if there are actual body parts that it gets distasteful.

      Let's mark that up as a Hyperloop plus point.

    6. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Short of the tube being destroyed, what are they going to collide with? And if the tube itself is destroyed they're going to be affected by the air pressure long before hitting anything solid.

      So that's the main area for testing I should think. What if they lose vacuum when a capsule is going at X mph?

    7. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by Verdatum · · Score: 1

      What if a random bolt comes loose and flies up? It'll act like a bullet. But yeah, I wanna hear about tests on the tube. I want a pumped down tube hit with a 70MPH SUV. I wanna see it shot with a rifle. Building something that can withstand that sort of thing would have an insane cost per mile.

    8. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here you can see what high-powered rifles do to one-onch-thick steel.

    9. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      Plenty of ways of making sure bolts don't come undone. And I would have thought the only bolts on the inside would be below the level of the capsule in the track. And how would that fly up? It's a near vacuum, not anti-gravity. So that doesn't sound like an issue.

      Rifle? Probably only one of those huge ones with an armour piercing round. And then what? The size of the hole is tiny compared to the volume of the tube. The pressure would only change slowly. And slow pressure changes are easy to cope with. Slow the capsule down to say 50mph if a significant pressure change is detected. Or to stationary if something even more serious is detected.

      And remember, not every single conceivable accident needs to be entirely eliminated. There is no transport system that is 100% safe. There are rail crashes and airplane crashes from time to time.

      Being the newest system, Hyperloop probably needs to be safer than rail. But it doesn't need to be 100%.

    10. Re:Beyond "fine red mist" by Verdatum · · Score: 1

      Do they intend to build the hyperloop with 1'' thick steel? That'd probably work great, but holy crap, that would cost a fortune! There sample chamber appears to be 1/8'' steel based on photos.

    11. Re: Beyond "fine red mist" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A hyperloop accident will be just as spectacular as a major aviation incident AND will shut down the entire system potentially for months while the investigatiom proceeds and necessary repairs are made.

      What's not to like?

  26. Shinkansen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Japan's Shinkansen has a higher top speed at enormously lower costs. So why bother with the stupid thing?

    1. Re: Shinkansen by koomba · · Score: 1

      Oh really, japan's glorious train has top speed faster than 760 MPH? This is called a test, dip you understand the concept? In the real world, with difficult engineering projects, systems and components and everything is tested along the way. You don't just go from blueprints to full project completed without any testing along the way.

      Surely you realize this, otherwise you'd have to be even denser than the average /. AC shit poster. But that is definitely a possibility.

  27. How does one avoid getting cooked? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Imagine travelling in a metal vacuum tube that has surface temperature of 50 or more degrees Celsius. Makes for a very uncomfortable ride with no air conditioning. Dubai is wrong place for this first deployment.

    1. Re:How does one avoid getting cooked? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dubai has enormous amounts of money and the will to spend it on megaprojects that entail some risk.

      It's the perfect place for the first hyperloop deployment.

  28. The technology is the easy part by Oxygen99 · · Score: 1

    The politics may well prove impossible.

    --
    I had a dream, bright and carefree, but now there's doubt and gravity
    1. Re:The technology is the easy part by BasilBrush · · Score: 1

      That's what was being said about autonomous cars 5 years ago.

      Reality is that governments are falling over themselves to legalise autonomous cars. And insurance companies actually give a discount for drivers with Tesla Autopilot.

    2. Re:The technology is the easy part by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And autonomous cars are probably 20 years away from being safe for the streets. Just look at that woman in Norway that was run over by a Tesla because it wasn't smart enough to recognize her motorcycle as something not to run over.

  29. Not too much information by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

    (I am not interested in getting involved in an abstract discussion about all this, but would certainly welcome any reliable source of information about the exact conditions of this test)

    From the small real chunks in the video and the limited information in the linked article, I understand that:
    - We are talking about accelerating a small vehicle (as big as a small truck?) from zero to 300 km/h in 300 m and then keeping that speed for about 500 m.
    - It seems that it is a kind of a small train (better: the small locomotive of a train) over fancy rails travelling as any other train (or IC-powered, rail-based vehicle) would do. No idea about the exact effect of all this vacuum breakthrough technology, but it doesn't seem to matter too much here (= speed mostly constrained by the friction of the wheels against the rails).

    After some research and by making lots of assumptions because of the limited amount of information in that article (again: I will be more than happy to update this post if anyone could provide reliable enough information about the exact conditions), it seems to have a reasonably good acceleration for what seems its weight by comparing it with equivalent road-based alternatives (i.e., fast cars or trucks). On the other hand, the friction wheel-rail is much lower than the one wheel-road (rolling resistance values); to not mention the fact that the contact surfaces of the typical wheels of road-based vehicles are much bigger than what seems to be shown in the video (i.e., the aforementioned factor would have to be still smaller?). Comparing this with the acceleration of a train locomotive might be more accurate, but I haven't been able to find any reliable reference to that alternative.

    In summary, it seems a difficult-be-compared-against-anything-else sample of well-known technology (= vehicle on rails) under extremely limited conditions (a straight stretch of 300+500 m!) and by providing almost no relevant information. Also I guess that reaching much higher speeds under these exact conditions wouldn't be too difficult: if much bigger locomotives with many wagons can travel faster than 400 km/h during long (not completely straight!) stretches, these engines should be able to deliver notably higher speeds under notably better conditions (= no wagons/weight + straight and extremely short stretch).

    Logically, this new "milestone" (= new CGI-intensive video) has no effect on my medium-/long-term predictions for Hyperloop, as written in a post here some weeks ago (reminder: Slashdot posts cannot be edited/removed and I welcome anyone to quote me on my predictions in that post at any point). Short summary: I don't expect Hyperloop to ever become a reality as it is being advertised; in the best scenario (= losses-driven project eminently supported by have-to-be-done-no-matter-what ideas), it might become an expensive and mostly useless toy.

    --
    Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.
  30. Hyperloop is more than transportation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is also an excuse to build vast underground spaces. Why do we need vast underground spaces, you might ask? If I had to make a guess, they are built as shelters against a nuclear/biological/chemical attack.

    Their risk are on the rise and while there are many kinds of defensive systems like anti-missile-lasers, it is better to prepare for the worst. Few things are more secure than hundreds or thousands of km of deep tunnels _designed_ to accurately control the air inside them.

    Don't believe me? See if their vacuum/air conditioning systems are "over engineered" to cover for use cases outside the Hyperloop.

  31. Re:Impressive negative acceleration by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And back to zero in the remaining 200m is about -1.8G

  32. Yawm. by Thanatiel · · Score: 1

    This is nothing special.

    Call us again when it reaches high velocity (somebody said 1220kph / 760mph ?).

    Then call us when somebody breaks the vacuum while the vehicle moves at that speed so we see how safe it is. (Preferably from a distance, while an internal camera films dummies turning to mush)

    After that lt's see where it goes.

    --
    Irrelevant news and morons using moderation to mod down what they disagree on. 2018 resolution: so long.
  33. So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So what? My Meridian is still faster and goes where I want it to go (so far... have yet to want to go somewhere that there wasn't an airport nearby).

  34. Earthquakes? by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 1

    How are they planning to handle the occasional earthquake that might cause a permanent shift along a fault line?

    1. Re:Earthquakes? by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      How are they planning to handle the occasional earthquake that might cause a permanent shift along a fault line?

      Easily. The system has to have expansion joints built in to the tube to deal with temperature fluctuations.

      A naive proposal was expansion sections only at the ends of the tube, at the stations. Unless the tube rests on totally frictionless bearings on every pylon, that obviously won't work. As temperatures rise, the whole tube tries to expand at once. Since there's no such thing as a frictionless bearing, especially one bearing the weight of several tons of steel, expansion pressures won't be evenly distributed. The inevitable result is that some random sections of a solid steel tube would wrinkle to relieve the stress, making it impossible for capsules to navigate that stretch without bottoming out their levitation skids.

      So there will have to be expansion joints built in to the tube at intervals. Those joints can be slightly over-engineered and become earthquake expansion/contraction joints as well as thermal expansion joints. Problem solved.

  35. Seriously? Idiot. (nt) by Brannon · · Score: 1

    nt

  36. Geography basics by s.petry · · Score: 1

    I stated that there are numerous reasons things work in Japan, or other countries that are heavy train users for that matter, and quite frankly amazed that I have to point them out.

    Distance between Tokyo and Kobe, 320 miles. That is a bit more than half of the whole country of Japan. Distance beween Kobe and Osaka, or Osaka and Kyoto is between 20 and 30 miles.

    Compare that to say the two largest cities in just California, 404 miles apart. SF and the Middle of the country, 1,800 miles. Distance between coasts at around 3,000.

    Now do that same comparison with Germany, or France, or the UK, or Spain, or any other county you wish. As the land mass increases (Russia/India/China) the use of trains becomes more and more local and long distance commuting gets less and less.

    A high speed train won't convert people, because the time savings even at 300 MPH like a bullet train means hours (plural) on a train to get between cities that you can fly in an hour. I hope I don't need to state that Trains will have stops (like in Japan, Germany, etc..) so you are not going a direct route at top speed ever. The fastest bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka will take you on average 6 hours, even though it's only 300 miles. You can fly from Tokyo to Osaka in less than an hour.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.