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geckosfeet

(9,644 posts)

52. 10 times faster than flying for 10 times less cost?

Thu Jun 6, 2013, 05:13 AM

Jun 2013

If it sounds too good to be true,,,,,

Evacuating (even a partial vacuum which it would most certainly be) a tube 4000 miles long would be a chore.

Interesting idea though. Maybe some kind of huge fan system, partially powered by air displaced by the train to create negative pressure in the tube around the train.

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Rumor: High-speed tube travel concept in the works [View all] Little Star Jun 2013 OP

Test site? Can we just put some chipmunks BlueStreak Jun 2013 #1

Well, they have pnumatic elevators. Savannahmann Jun 2013 #82

Seems like a larger version of this... Major Nikon Jun 2013 #2

hmm... nebenaube Jun 2013 #5

Sort of. The point is to eliminate air drag. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #32

I've ridden on the Maglev Major Nikon Jun 2013 #35

Which one? China and Japan have built them, and they carry millions of live passengers. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #37

The Shanghai Maglev Major Nikon Jun 2013 #45

but you could conceiveably only have a few bends, not curves... zappaman Jun 2013 #39

I'm not a physicist, so I'm not familiar with the math... backscatter712 Jun 2013 #42

Wishful thinking Rocky888 Jun 2013 #3

Elon Musk (Tesla, Solar City) is involved kristopher Jun 2013 #4

I don't think Elon Musk is involved in this. bananas Jun 2013 #49

Thanks. kristopher Jun 2013 #70

I'm not impressed with that cabin size BlueStreak Jun 2013 #6

What if they made all the seats commodes? MattBaggins Jun 2013 #24

Complimentary Depends [tm] BlueStreak Jun 2013 #30

Maybe you could get off at Denver, 15 minutes? defacto7 Jun 2013 #26

My point is that once you lock in the 5 foot diameter thing BlueStreak Jun 2013 #31

We cram ourselves into similarly sized craft when we go on road trips. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #34

You can't pull off at the next exit to take a pee break BlueStreak Jun 2013 #46

Go before you start the trip Ter Jun 2013 #89

I make two/three-hour drives all the time. Codeine Jun 2013 #56

Seriously? Never? BlueStreak Jun 2013 #58

I just go before I leave. Codeine Jun 2013 #79

Well, a lot of people do, unfortunately. BlueStreak Jun 2013 #80

Then you have, at best, about 3 minutes to find a can when you get out at the end of the trip. RC Jun 2013 #77

Looks as large as the cabin on some commuter planes. kristopher Jun 2013 #71

How long ago did the Wright brothers get off the ground ? olddots Jun 2013 #7

Woo! Mr. David Jun 2013 #8

4,000 miles per hour inside a close-fitting tube DavidDvorkin Jun 2013 #9

Perhaps it's how the Tube is lubricated formercia Jun 2013 #10

It's supposed to be a maglev system - no lubrication needed. caraher Jun 2013 #16

It will be evacuated DavidDvorkin Jun 2013 #21

4,000 miles per hour IN A VACUUM. What could possibly go wrong? BlueStreak Jun 2013 #62

This message was self-deleted by its author shawn703 Jun 2013 #67

Interesting. William769 Jun 2013 #11

Isn't breaking the sound barrier an issue? Concord was trouble prone for ever. n-t Logical Jun 2013 #12

No sound barrier to break, no air to transmit sound, no air friction to create heat pediatricmedic Jun 2013 #14

OK, sorry. So tube it a vacuum? Wow. Seems hard to maintain that also. n-t Logical Jun 2013 #22

What's that movie.... defacto7 Jun 2013 #27

Can we skip that design feature please pediatricmedic Jun 2013 #33

I am sick of these mother fucking face sucking aliens on my mother fucking tube train! longship Jun 2013 #38

Let's see... A pressurized capsule inside of a vacuum tube. Hmmm... RC Jun 2013 #78

As long as the tube was sufficiently pumped free of air... backscatter712 Jun 2013 #36

Then saying "It is a series of tubes" would make sense. n-t Logical Jun 2013 #13

This would be great to ship Shankapotomus Jun 2013 #15

The plan is to start with cargo caraher Jun 2013 #17

I don't know how they'll get around Shankapotomus Jun 2013 #19

Actually, they have a plan caraher Jun 2013 #25

....it's eternity in there.... alittlelark Jun 2013 #18

I like my Low-Speed Concept better. hunter Jun 2013 #20

What does "in the works mean"? MattBaggins Jun 2013 #23

Considering that this idea has been around quite literally for decades kentauros Jun 2013 #66

Anyone calculated the G forces of having to make quick pee stop? defacto7 Jun 2013 #28

Decelerating from 4000 mph to 0 mph in 60 seconds would generate 3.04 Gs Gravitycollapse Jun 2013 #29

Worst case accident scenario. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #40

and the last moments of a passenger may sound something like defacto7 Jun 2013 #47

What are the odds of surviving a catastrophic failure in a jet? n/t Egalitarian Thug Jun 2013 #50

But nature abhors a vacuum. Orrex Jun 2013 #41

That thing will have to be made of unobtainium MindPilot Jun 2013 #43

I think it can be done, just that it'll be expensive. backscatter712 Jun 2013 #44

Yep. It would be the #1 terrorist target in the US n2doc Jun 2013 #55

This message was self-deleted by its author guyton Jun 2013 #48

good old ted stevens would have loved this story sure miss him. nt oldgrowth Jun 2013 #51

10 times faster than flying for 10 times less cost? geckosfeet Jun 2013 #52

Imagining traveling from the hospital to your home... Earth_First Jun 2013 #53

i don't see the point of going from new york to los angeles in 45 minutes anymore. why the rush? HiPointDem Jun 2013 #54

The appeal for me is that it could be far more energy efficient caraher Jun 2013 #61

So Justin Bieber could tape Letterman and Leno on the same day itsrobert Jun 2013 #72

You must not have 3 kids GobBluth Jun 2013 #83

i started riding trains alone, with my sibs, when i was about 7, 2.5 hour trip we did regularly HiPointDem Jun 2013 #87

hee, I checked out a train from Tampa to Minneapolis. shoot, it's like 15 hours. GobBluth Jun 2013 #88

i like this concept.... madrchsod Jun 2013 #57

I think I saw this in a 1964 Popular Mechanix... n/t HereSince1628 Jun 2013 #59

I'm still waiting for the airplane-car that mag has been predicting for 60 years BlueStreak Jun 2013 #63

First NYC subway was pneumatic tube style Bluenorthwest Jun 2013 #60

Beach Pneumatic Transit ... GMTA .... eppur_se_muova Jun 2013 #75

Something like this I think One_Life_To_Give Jun 2013 #64

I can't decide whether this idea sucks or blows. Orrex Jun 2013 #65

Having worked with Ultra-High-Vacuum systems before, this is impossible with current technology. sir pball Jun 2013 #68

My one question is: Why is it above ground? kentauros Jun 2013 #69

At that speed, you take a path around the rockies itsrobert Jun 2013 #73

You're still going to have hilly grade to navigate. kentauros Jun 2013 #74

To put this in some perspective BlueStreak Jun 2013 #81

I don't disagree at all. kentauros Jun 2013 #84

And we are talking potentially 16 times that fast BlueStreak Jun 2013 #85

Personally, I'd rather see the same engineering go into building the Space Elevator. kentauros Jun 2013 #86

4000 miles of vacuum ? Unlikely. eppur_se_muova Jun 2013 #76