Of all the hyped up startups out there. I'm personally most bullish on the promise of the Hyperloop. Really Hyperloop One since they're the only one making actual progress. The article makes some decent sounding criticism on the issue of last mile being the limiting factor. But it all reminds me of what I heard before regarding fast internet connectivity (the issue of the last mile), or why would people need personal…
Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
41–50 of 177 posts
Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#42Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#43Why not, instead of using an almost-vacuum and a separate means of propulsion, create a stream of air similar to that of bank tubes and just use that for propulsion? Fans inside of the tube would pull air in the direction of travel, and it could be circulated or pumped in from / out to the outside at the ends. At the end of the tubes a main fan system would be the primary work horse, creating vacuum forces on the arr…
Among other things it's more efficient to send electricity than to send air.
Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
The best legitimate criticisms I've seen are here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RNFesa01llk Basically expansion and contraction as well as just plain vulnerability of running a vacuum make it extremely difficult to do practically. The phrase he uses, "all the problems of space travel except in a gun barrel" is a pretty accurate description of the issue. Any loss of vacuum will almost guarantee loss of life. No reali…
You assume that Hyperloop's tube will run a vacuum, which is a misconception. The Hyperloop One design uses low pressure tubes which is completely different from being completely evacuated.
Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#45Of all the hyped up startups out there. I'm personally most bullish on the promise of the Hyperloop. Really Hyperloop One since they're the only one making actual progress. The article makes some decent sounding criticism on the issue of last mile being the limiting factor. But it all reminds me of what I heard before regarding fast internet connectivity (the issue of the last mile), or why would people need personal…
Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#46I always come to these hyperloop criticisms expecting to find some sort of fatal flaw in the physics of energy efficient supersonic travel. But to my surprise, they instead tend to be pessimists saying things like, "You'll never get past my friends: the regulators, the government bureaucrats, and especially the lawyers!. We will drive up your costs and make you look foolish". First, no one said that designing this th…
It's not like investors are blind or dumbstruck just because it's an idea from Musk.
They do their due diligence and if they think the plan has potential, they invest.
I'm sure there were countless technical issues and big challenges around airplanes in the initial stages. And cars. And trains. And, you know, every new technology.
Could Hyperloop (One) fail miserably? Sure. Could it succeed? Also.
Let's just wait and see.
Also, whenever there are invested interests of established competition, they usually drum up the PR machine against new ideas, just as a precaution.
Just look at the fascinating history of fridges vs ice box companies for one of countless examples.
Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
That demo is unrealistic. The entire end of the tube isn't going to open all at once. Instead, any realistic leak would be pretty small in comparison.
Forces of nature or other things never suddenly disrupt infrastructure. See: http://whns.images.worldnow.com/images/22787728_SA.jpg
Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#48Why not, instead of using an almost-vacuum and a separate means of propulsion, create a stream of air similar to that of bank tubes and just use that for propulsion? Fans inside of the tube would pull air in the direction of travel, and it could be circulated or pumped in from / out to the outside at the ends. At the end of the tubes a main fan system would be the primary work horse, creating vacuum forces on the arr…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit Among other things it's more efficient to send electricity than to send air.
Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#49I always come to these hyperloop criticisms expecting to find some sort of fatal flaw in the physics of energy efficient supersonic travel. But to my surprise, they instead tend to be pessimists saying things like, "You'll never get past my friends: the regulators, the government bureaucrats, and especially the lawyers!. We will drive up your costs and make you look foolish". First, no one said that designing this th…
Re: Hyperloop Freight is a Joke
#50I always come to these hyperloop criticisms expecting to find some sort of fatal flaw in the physics of energy efficient supersonic travel. But to my surprise, they instead tend to be pessimists saying things like, "You'll never get past my friends: the regulators, the government bureaucrats, and especially the lawyers!. We will drive up your costs and make you look foolish". First, no one said that designing this th…
so many are using the 'playing at moonshots with other peoples money' criticism. It's not like investors are blind or dumbstruck just because it's an idea from Musk. They do their due diligence and if they think the plan has potential, they invest. I'm sure there were countless technical issues and big challenges around airplanes in the initial stages. And cars. And trains. And, you know, every new technology. Could…