Hyperloop

[charliestyr]

Thanks for sharing the link, watched this the other day, and noticed Elon has now tweeted about the hyper loops.. I wonder how serious he is about this



"Not a vac tunnel btw".

It was an interesting interview, and I agree with what others have said that is interesting to just watch him talk and see how his brain is working

Charlie -

[AnOutsider]

Open source.. Guess he doesn't have time to go after it himself and doesn't want to see it delayed.

[dsm363]

If everything he says about the Hyperloop is accurate, maybe they'll do that instead of the new high speed rail in California.

[Norbert]

This Hyperloop thing kept me thinking. I don't know if this is a good idea, but at least it's an idea. Somewhat based on Elon's description of high altitude jets / fans operating at low air pressure:

So not a vacuum tunnel, but a somewhat air-tight tunnel for the pods (or ideally plexiglas tube above ground or below water in the Pacific, or whatever). One for each direction of course. And two air pipes along them, one with high air pressure, one with low pressure / vacuum, and every 100 ft or so, remotely controlled valves that connect the pipes with the tunnel. Then, when a pod is traveling in the tunnel, the valves for the low-pressure/vacuum pipe open ahead of the pod, and the high pressure valves open behind the pod. So the pod itself has no motor or anything, but is driven by the high pressure behind it, and the low pressure in front of it (which also decreases the aerodynamic resistance). Probably won't work because it's too inefficient (or impossible) to create a large enough pressure difference in the tunnel, but maybe it was an entertaining thought...

Or is that actually how the office pressure communication works...?

[Steph]

This would be a nice automated and safe transportation...

[brianman]

@Steph - I'd love to see "BattleBots 3D cage" as a next step in such research.

[Steph]

@Steph - I'd love to see "BattleBots 3D cage" as a next step in such research.

Try this one:


And this one is pretty cool too:

[AnOutsider]

let's try to keep it close to the topic

[Steph]

let's try to keep it close to the topic

That was my take on the "Hyperloop"

What if you make this thing big enough to carry a car from point A to point B on short haul?

4 Tesla motors, a skateboard, some software to control and navigate, small landing and takeoff areas. With the 85kw battery, this thing could fly for a few hours probably (didn't do the maths, I feel lazy) That could be a flying taxi fixing all traffic problems Elon hates so much (I feel the same as he and when I saw this thing a while ago, I though it could be a revolution

[raymond]

And two air pipes along them, one with high air pressure, one with low pressure

Hey! And the solar panels above could pressurize the pipes even when no capsules are running. And at night the pressurized pipes can still power (blow?) the capsules forward because they are (over-)pressurized. (As Elon hinted.)

Regenerative breaking can be achieved by pumping air from in front of the capsule back into the pipes.

What kind of diameter are we talking about?