Isn't the pod going to be extremely loud?
Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
161–170 of 202 posts
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#162This is supposed to be for commuters? I worry not many would commute daily from LA to SF. Also, travel time to the station has to be taken into account, even more so if we compare it to driving.
Yes they don't because its not feasible _yet_. If your residence/office is within 30 mins from the stations at points of origin/exit, then with this, it'll be about 1.5 hours end-to-end (I'm sure auxiliary services would spring up to support this like shuttle buses etc). I know people who change buses, trains and do some walking, chalking a total of that much right now everyday while working and staying in the same city.
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#163Why is everyone so negative?
Musk just posted a innovative, open-source, thorough, alpha design study which addresses a real problem.
Personally I think it's great, and I hope it gets taken seriously by the right people.
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretty sure you can truck pylons if you can truck in precast bridge decks: https://www.google.com/search?q=precast+bridge+deck
Concrete is about two tons per yard. The legal limit on most trailers is about 20 tons (40,000 pounds, the trailer is about 40,000 for the legal limit of 80,000 pounds). So you can get about 10 yards of concrete in one go; you can use specialty trailers to get higher numbers, but even if you double it to 40 tons, that's still only 20 yards. a 4' x 4' x 8' ecology block is about five yards. So let's picture the pylon…
> a 4' x 4' x 8' ecology block is about five yards
That's just brilliant. (for the rest of the world 1,201,202.4m is 3.5m^3 and density of concrete is around 2400 kg/m^3)
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#165Location is a primary reason why Musk can claim Hyperloop will be cheaper than high speed rail. As the paper correctly points out, right-of-way acquisition is very expensive. Bypassing major population centers is an easy way out of using eminent domain or expensive tunneling to build the system. The HSR project is required by Proposition 1A to pass through several population centers in the state and have a couple doz…
For example, the "San Francisco" station appears to be located in the East Bay and the "Los Angeles" station is closer to Burbank. This is quite significant from an urban planning perspective as it means that short haul transit or car trips have to be accommodated for a majority of those people who want to use the system. It also adds to the total travel time needed to get from door to door for a greater number of pe…
Burbank isn't even the boondocks. It's just part of the San Fernando Valley sprawl. You literally couldn't tell where it ends and Los Angeles begins without the signs.
Well, ok, and the nicer road surfaces.
Having said that, the map actually looks like it terminates at the northern tip of the valley, where there are current no mass transit rail lines, so you'd be looking at buses or cars from there.
Understandable as land acquisition costs skyrocket once it hits the valley. Still, it's a little misleading cost-wise for that reason.
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#166He doesn't properly address thermal expansion of the entire system. A long straight steel tube from SF to LA will expand a total of 300 meters over a 40C temperature change. Where does it go?
Does it have to be steel? Any other materials we can be considering? Some interesting new forms of carbon...?
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#167He doesn't properly address thermal expansion of the entire system. A long straight steel tube from SF to LA will expand a total of 300 meters over a 40C temperature change. Where does it go?
Does it have to be steel? Any other materials we can be considering? Some interesting new forms of carbon...?
If you want it building for a reasonable cost then it's steel or nothing.
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#168Location is a primary reason why Musk can claim Hyperloop will be cheaper than high speed rail. As the paper correctly points out, right-of-way acquisition is very expensive. Bypassing major population centers is an easy way out of using eminent domain or expensive tunneling to build the system. The HSR project is required by Proposition 1A to pass through several population centers in the state and have a couple doz…
> For example, the "San Francisco" station appears to be located in the East Bay and the "Los Angeles" station is closer to Burbank.
They did this a lot in Japan as well for the Shinkansen. There are a lot of Shin stations built expressly for the Shinkansen because the city center was too crowded. Once the train line is in, a new city blossoms up in the activity around the station.
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#169If the U.S. doesn't take this on, I hope another country with a big appetite for enormous public transit projects takes this on. Japan, Korea, and China, I'm looking at you...
China seems set on a different path, but I guess you never know. Korea seems too small to benefit. And Japan perhaps too mountainous? Looking at California: http://bit.ly/1eFevxA And Japan: http://bit.ly/19ZXwbJ I don't see any roads in Japan that are nearly as straight as I-5. The places where this would make sense have destinations fairly far apart, but not too far apart, with somewhat amenable landscape between th…
In Australia this could potentially be viable between Melbourne and Sydney, but probably only if it doubles as a cargo train. I doubt there is enough daily people traffic to warrant it otherwise?
It is around 900km though, almost a straight line along the Hume highway and the busiest city-pair in Australia by a long way.
Re: Hyperloop Alpha [pdf]
#170If the U.S. doesn't take this on, I hope another country with a big appetite for enormous public transit projects takes this on. Japan, Korea, and China, I'm looking at you...
China seems set on a different path, but I guess you never know. Korea seems too small to benefit. And Japan perhaps too mountainous? Looking at California: http://bit.ly/1eFevxA And Japan: http://bit.ly/19ZXwbJ I don't see any roads in Japan that are nearly as straight as I-5. The places where this would make sense have destinations fairly far apart, but not too far apart, with somewhat amenable landscape between th…
The public in East Asian countries see public transit in a different light than most North Americans, partly due to a lack of cars and the population density. They are probably the some of the few governments that can afford to foot the bill for such an unproven project with potential for dramatic benefits (and cost savings over building HSR), but also with the risk that the 10 billion or so could go down the toilet. Europe would be another ideal target, but I doubt any governments there have the appetite for big capex infrastructure projects right now.