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Hyperloop

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Re: Hyperloop

#161
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that any worse than standard commercial air travel? Plus, really, you are talking about a thirty-minute journey.

You can get up and walk around on a plane.

Most flights I've been on in the last decade, you don't want to leave your seat for anything except a bathroom break. It's not like we're flying on Pan Am Clippers with pianos and seven course meals. Air travel is a glorified cattle car unless you're willing to be financially raped for first class or a chartered jet.

Re: Hyperloop

#162
post #99

I'm impressed, but I'm afraid Hyperloop's operation is modeled after airplanes, while the actual use of the system would be closer to a city bus. >All capsules would have direct radio contact with station operators in case of emergencies, allowing passengers to report any incident, to request help and to receive assistance. In addition, all capsules would be fitted with first aid equipment >Typical times between an e…

What happens if a brawl erupts inside a moving bus or taxi? What happens if a suicide bomber boards a train or bus? What happens if a suicide bomber rents a car and crashes it into you as you walk along the sidewalk? Rather than living in perpetual fear, you could try making the world a place where people who can't get food or work aren't trying to blow you up as a last resort? Americans seem to be the most worried a…

I'm an advocate for not living in perpetual fear too, but I couldn't find specifics of how unexpected passenger behavior would be handled. Assuming it's as cheap and easy to operate as it seems, I really want the Hyperloop to succeed and be installed in as many metro areas as possible, but for the Hyperloop to succeed, it has to be resilient and not overly optimistic, and not assume everyone onboard will sit and stay still for the whole trip.

Humans don't always behave as they're expected to by the engineers of a system. That happens in software, happens in hardware, and in public transportation too.

[EDIT] I think these paragraphs give an idea of how an incident would be handled:

>If a capsule were somehow to become stranded, capsules ahead would continue their journeys to the destination unaffected. Capsules behind the stranded one would be automatically instructed to deploy their emergency mechanical braking systems. Once all capsules behind the stranded capsule had been safely brought to rest, capsules would drive themselves to safety using small onboard electric motors to power deployed wheels.

>All capsules would be equipped with a reserve air supply great enough to ensure the safety of all passengers for a worst case scenario event.

>In the event of a large scale leak, pressure sensors located along the tube would automatically communicate with all capsules to deploy their emergency mechanical braking systems.

>Hyperloop would feature the same high level of security used at airports. However, the regular departure of Hyperloop capsules would result in a steadier and faster flow of passengers through security screening compared to airports. Tubes located on pylons would limit access to the critical elements of the system. Multiple redundant power sources and vacuum pumps would limit the impact of any single element.

Re: Hyperloop

#163

That capsule ( http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2013-08-12/0812_Hyperloop_605.jpg ) looks like a claustrophobic's nightmare. Otherwise very, very cool.

I get the feeling the space in the passenger car (which is limited) was designed by people who build space capsules.

Re: Hyperloop

#165
post #146

As someone who gets claustrophobic on planes - I have to fight the panic every time I fly, the dread that fills me at the thought of a service/system malfunction, while halfway between LA and SF, what happens then? I'm reminded of this water slide at the Gold Coast's Wet and Wild - you end up going upside down - but in order to attain the velocity required to make the loop, you need to be dropped from a particular he…

If you can't stand being in an enclosed space like that, there's still the interstate. Is not meant to be everyone's ideal solution, it's meant to be a good solution for most people.

Re: Hyperloop

#166
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No toilets on commuter buses either and people ride them 45minutes to 1+ hours everyday with no issues. You're stuck in the "long trip" "it's like a train" framework. It is neither.

Commuter buses stop regularly.

The commuter busses in NYC don't have bathrooms. For instance the X1 bus goes 45 minutes non-stop:

Schedule: http://www.mta.info/nyct/bus/schedule/xpress/x001cur.pdf

Re: Hyperloop

#167
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens currently on a high-speed rail system? I suppose there's a lavatory in the HSR (e.g.: France's TGV).

Currently you get up and go to the bathroom at the end of the car. I've only had time to skim the full PDF, but there's something about experiencing 0.5g of acceleration - unsure if that is a constant or if that is simply right at the very beginning. If you're going to experience 0.5g of acceleration over a prolonged period, letting passengers get up and move about is going to be a bad idea. It also doesn't look like…

Assuming it's very smooth acceleration, it's just like standing on a 26º slope, feeling slightly heavier than normal. Healthy individuals should have no problem at all in such a situation.

Re: Hyperloop

#168
post #99

I'm impressed, but I'm afraid Hyperloop's operation is modeled after airplanes, while the actual use of the system would be closer to a city bus. >All capsules would have direct radio contact with station operators in case of emergencies, allowing passengers to report any incident, to request help and to receive assistance. In addition, all capsules would be fitted with first aid equipment >Typical times between an e…

Regarding a brawl, there's not really much space for much of a fight.

Re: Hyperloop

#169
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No toilets on commuter buses either and people ride them 45minutes to 1+ hours everyday with no issues. You're stuck in the "long trip" "it's like a train" framework. It is neither.

Commuter buses stop regularly.

I visited my friend in New York, and he took the express from Staten Island to Manhattan, and it was ~45 minutes without any stops (from the last Staten Island one to the first Manhattan one)

Re: Hyperloop

#170
post #82
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what happens when you develop unexpected gastric issues mid-30 minute journey?

What happens currently on a high-speed rail system? I suppose there's a lavatory in the HSR (e.g.: France's TGV).

Fast trains are just fast trains. Inside there isn’t much special about them compared to slower ones, except that they are usually more comfortable (softer and adjustable seats, definitely wider, at least in first class, better and more tables, more storage space for luggage, electrical outlets, sometimes crappy WiFi, a crappy restaurant, relatively roomy bathrooms that don’t even look that bad). Also, they actually tend to run much more quietly and rumble less than slower trains, so getting up and walking around is usually never a problem, except maybe when the train is driving into and out of a station and over many switches. At least that’s my experience in Germany, but the TGV isn’t so different (maybe a bit better in some ways).

The problem with the images of the Hyperloop interior is that it looks very much unlike anything you currently find in trains. It looks more like the inside of a race car – with a belt and all – and it doesn’t look like you are supposed to get up and walk around. It doesn’t seem as though there is enough space for that. Maybe that’s just some designer having an unnecessary flight of fancy (but that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the design if it’s that badly though out), maybe that’s an inherent downside of the design. Either way, not good.

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