Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Is Actually Getting Kind Of Serious

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I think Elon Musk’s Hyperloop idea is great. Am I going to be one of the first to ride in it? Hell no. I'll wait until it is in use for a few years and all the kinks are worked out first. ;)

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies announced today that it has signed agreements to work with Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum and global engineering design firm Aecom. The two companies will lend their expertise in exchange for stock options in the company, joining the army of engineers from the likes of Boeing and SpaceX already lending their time to the effort. “It’s a validation of the fact that our model works,” says Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies. “It’s the next step.”
 
I was reading the article and got to the point where Large Hadron Collider was mentioned and suddenly images of the plastic capsule full of people smashes into another capsule full of people coming from the other direction.
 
Ur_Mom said:
We have a weird new organization in our area pushing for a new Monorail. Most people think that we're being trolled, myself included. http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2015/08/16/3697033/mysterious-group-proposes-monorail.html


The Hyperloop sounds cool and would be nice for long trips, but not sure if I'd trust it until it's been around for a bit.
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It would be awesome if all major cities were connected, but the cost would be high. You could commute between cities quickly and grab a something like a zipcar at the other end. Would expand possibilities for travel for work, or for those who don't fly.
 
amddragonpc said:
I was reading the article and got to the point where Large Hadron Collider was mentioned and suddenly images of the plastic capsule full of people smashes into another capsule full of people coming from the other direction.
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If it works just like a vacuum tube then that will be impossible.
 
This makes so much sense for me. Leapfrog HSR, this requires less of a footprint and is more flexible to put in existing highway footprint instead. Excited to see this continue to advance.
 
This tech seems a little 'out there' to me. What sort of failure modes are they preparing for? How do they plan to rescue people out of a vacuum pipe when something goes wrong?

Maybe they'll get it figured out, but I sure as hell wont be the first to take a ride in one.
 
I'd imagine the tubes would have access hatches every few hundred yards, and the pods would also have hatches. Might involve some crawling, but it wouldn't be that hard to get out I wouldn't think.

Maybe emergency airlock doors ever kilometer or so. In an emergency, you close those doors, vent that section of tube by opening the hatches, then escape from the pod.
 
We got a Monorail here in Norfolk but I don't think there is that much ridership.
What they need to do is have the monorail go from Downtown Norfolk to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, but all they are doing is spending millions of dollars on studies about proposed extension.
Right now the monorail goes from the Virginia Beach border to downtown Norfolk.
 
I'm not sure if this concept is viable at this point, but I think it's good that they netertheless are trying to make it work. They may develop some interesting technologies along the way even if we'll not be getting the actual hyperloop anytime soon.
 
dave99 said:
I'd imagine the tubes would have access hatches every few hundred yards, and the pods would also have hatches. Might involve some crawling, but it wouldn't be that hard to get out I wouldn't think.

Maybe emergency airlock doors ever kilometer or so. In an emergency, you close those doors, vent that section of tube by opening the hatches, then escape from the pod.
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Yeah ummmm do you know what happens when you expose yourself to a vacuum?
 
DigitalGriffin said:
Yeah ummmm do you know what happens when you expose yourself to a vacuum?
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Not much, at least if it's not for a very long time, but basically you will pass out. That's about it.

In any case, if it works as he said, with airlock doors every so often then if you were stuck they could re-pressurize the section you're in and then you could just walk along the tube to the next exit.
 
extide said:
Not much, at least if it's not for a very long time, but basically you will pass out. That's about it.

In any case, if it works as he said, with airlock doors every so often then if you were stuck they could re-pressurize the section you're in and then you could just walk along the tube to the next exit.
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Your blood fucking boils. You'd die in seconds.
 
What I'm wondering about is oxygen in the capsule; the capsule would likely need to carry enough oxygen for the entire trip, as I don't see the feasibility of some external connector drawing oxygen during the trip itself?
 
Direkt said:
Go fill a beaker with water, put a rubber stopper on it and pump the air out of it to create a vacuum. Hold said beaker in your hand, observe water.

Oh hell. Here https://youtu.be/glLPMXq6yc0
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The "boiling" is gas escaping the water because of the vacuum running. Once the vacuum pump turns off, the boiling stops; Even when the water is still within a vacuum. :eek:
 
Streiw said:
The "boiling" is gas escaping the water because of the vacuum running. Once the vacuum pump turns off, the boiling stops; Even when the water is still within a vacuum. :eek:
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It will boil without the pump running. I've done as much in the lab (as has any 11th grade chemistry student).
 
Direkt said:
It will boil without the pump running. I've done as much in the lab (as has any 11th grade chemistry student).
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You're body still acts as a pressurized container for your blood.

Our bodies are not perfectly secure though. So eventually bad stuff can happen. But you will pass out and die due to lack of oxygen long before any of that happens.
 
Direkt said:
Go fill a beaker with water, put a rubber stopper on it and pump the air out of it to create a vacuum. Hold said beaker in your hand, observe water.

Oh hell. Here https://youtu.be/glLPMXq6yc0
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People have survived up to something like a minute and a half exposed to vacuum...and they didn't die because their blood boiled. People have survived small parts of their bodies(like a hand) being exposed to vacuum for much longer than this and, again, no boiling blood.
 
I suppose the body would act as a pressurized container for your blood. Point taken.

Back to lurking for me! :D
 
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