Hyperloop 'test tubes'
 

Elon Musk's Hyperloop Technologies got sections of their depressurized transport tubes ready in a Nevada desert. Passenger pods fit and 'levitate' inside the tubes, without air resistance can travel at speeds over 700 mph. Travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 35 minutes. His system test is a parallel proof-of-technology proposal to compete with multi-billion California bullet train project. Elon Musk has completely open-sourced the project and encourages even individuals, companies and investors to make the Hyperloop system a reality. He hopes his system up and moving passengers by 2020.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Hs0r5RUww

First subway didn't have enough backing...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HHllC4TbeY

musk certainly did NOT come up with the idea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vactrain#History

E3T, evacuated tube transportation technology.

Coast to coast (US) in an hour.

Why ET3? | Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies

First posted about it a couple of years ago. The financial power and prestige of Musk and his endeavors might get it there a lot faster.

regards
mech

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...d-14834-2.html

2010, longer than I thought.

regards
mech

the airhead reporter says @ 1:09 that "elon musk came up with the idea"...

Musk invented everything, don't you guys know that?

Read about a similar project but trans pacific under water, in Popular Mechanics, back in the early '90s. Either way it sounds ridiculous to me. How much energy (and time) does it take to suck the air out of a tube that big?

I imagine once you get the air out it's very easy to maintain the vacuum

The first vacuum tubes were proposed almost 200 years ago, when self propelled machines were impractical. Sometimes ancient solutions, combined with modern advancements can provide significant reductions in energy requirements.

Eliminating aero drag completely, combined with friction free maglev tech means you can now apply linear motors for propulsion with the ultimate pulse and glide. Power requirements are basically close to 0 when you consider the energy required for acceleration is recovered decelerating the projectile at the end of it's journey. Both acceleration and deceleration must be controlled to prevent the g forces from destroying the human cargo.

regards
mech

More like an O2 cylinder, I suppose there has to be some leakage over time, but it's so low it can be though of as zero. Some pressure will presumably be lost getting the pods in and out of the system, getting people in and out and the like. Still, it's a small price to pay for essentially zero aero drag. Imagine hypermiling your car in a vacuum :thumbup: