How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

http://www.abdinoor.com/2013/07/16/elon-musk-and-the-hyperloop/

by abdinoor • 13 years ago

15 10 13 years ago

abdinoor.com

yoavshapira2• 13 years ago

Good explanation!

IanDrake• 13 years ago

This is the most plausible and interesting interpretation I've heard yet.

chiph3• 13 years ago

If it's any kind of open track, it'll have problems with sonic booms. 400 miles in 30 minutes is 800 mph, a speed which exceeds the speed of sound at sea-level (~ 760mph). The neighbors aren't going to like that.

abdinoor• 13 years ago

Supersonic vehicles have been designed that minimize the size of the sonic boom. For example, the Lockheed Martin SAI produces a sonic boom 1% as big as the Concorde (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAI_Quiet_Supersonic_Transport).

chiph3• 13 years ago

Hmm. Maybe it won't be a problem after all. The size of the sonic boom seems to correlate positively with the size of the wing surface. Since a track (or tube) based system wouldn't need much of a wing, it ought to have a pretty small boom.

However, I do want to point out that rifle shots are supersonic and are annoying to the neighbors, and they have no wings at all.

VuongN• 13 years ago

We'll have to wait and see, but what I read was definitely plausible and sound. Intriguing indeed.

skastel• 13 years ago

The real issue is the safety issue. Shutting down a vehicle moving at 2500 feet/sec without subjecting the occupants to unhealthy G-forces is going to be rather difficult. But who knows, the human body can certainly withstand some pretty intense shock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4tuvOer_GI

satellitecat• 13 years ago

Yesterday there was a post on here where Elon tweeted a reply to someone that his guess was the closest yet:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6046943

He seems to verify that there will be "pods" 2m wide, so it sounds like this will be tunnel- or tube-based.

How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

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