Elon Musk and the Hyperloop system

[bobdavis]

Both the mainstream news media and the railfan forums have been "buzzing" with reports of a new long-distance transport system being promoted by Elon Musk, founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors. He collected megabucks when he sold off PayPal, and the Tesla battery-powered automobile is doing surprisingly well considering its six-figure MSRP. Now he's proposing the "HyperLoop" which would supposedly speed passengers from LA to San Francisco in about 30 minutes. Some of the details are unclear, but it is presented as a pair of large-diameter steel tubes with "pods"/"capsules" holding about two dozen passengers, zipping through the tubes at 700-800 mph. I get the impression that the tubes would be pumped out to a near vacuum air pressure to cut down on "wind resistance", but the pods would use "air bearings" (apparently somewhat like the Getty Center transport system) to keep them out of contact with the bottom of the tube. At least Mr. Musk has a good "track record" and quite a bit of money to put where his mouth (or PowerPoint) is. He is not what Texans call "Big hat/no cattle". But---PayPal uses the Internet, which rides on a vast fiber-optic and satellite network, and the Tesla relies on public roads and electric utilities for its infrastructure. Building what amounts to a 700-mile long giant aqueduct is a whole new ball game. One commenter in the LA Times today asked "What about people with claustrophobia? It would be like a giant MRI machine. And how about restrooms?"

[rajacobs]

Musk's conceptual model for the Hyperloop: Hyperloop Alpha.

Musk writes:

Hyperloop is considered an open source transportation concept. The authors encourage all members of the community to contribute to the Hyperloop design process. Iteration of the design by various individuals and groups can help bring Hyperloop from an idea to a reality.

The authors recognize the need for additional work, including but not limited to:

1.  More expansion on the control mechanism for Hyperloop capsules, including attitude thruster or control moment gyros.
2.  Detailed station designs with loading and unloading of both passenger and passenger plus vehicle versions of the Hyperloop capsules.
3.  Trades comparing the costs and benefits of Hyperloop with more conventional magnetic levitation systems.
4.  Sub-scale testing based on a further optimized design to demonstrate the physics of Hyperloop.

Feedback is welcomed on these or any useful aspects of the Hyperloop design. E-mail feedback to [e-mail] or [e-mail].

 

 

[jdrcrasher]

Wow, if this goes forward, maybe it can serve as a missing link between Brightline's Phase II (Victorville-Rancho Metrolink) and ONT?

www.sgvtribune.com/2021/02/04/ontario-airport-tunnel-project-by-elon-musk-moves-to-next-phase/