Hyperloop One Becomes ‘Virgin Hyperloop One’

> The Hyperloop’s thermal issues are a hard enough problem that they alone put this in the domain of materials science. That’s the same category of problems separating us from a space elevator.

What? What are you even talking about?? That's a completely ridiculous statement. The pressure inside and outside the lunar landing module was 1,000,000,000,000,000x. 100 kPa to 10^-10 Pa. It makes zero sense to apply this kind of ridiculous relative measurement to pressures because it has no relation to how pressure works. The structural challenge in building a tube that works to .001 atmospheres is only 25% harder than building a tube that works to .2 atmospheres (same as an airplane). And it isn't any more dangerous.

The only challenge that occurs is sealing in that atmosphere without any leaks and that part isn't hard either. 100 Pa is achievable by a $50 pump.

I also have yet to see any compelling argument that there will be thermal issues. Floating mounts and expansion joints are hardly untested technology.

Yeah, Denver being chosen just convinced me that this whole thing is pump and dump cash grab.

CDOT has this thing for "public/private partnerships" which are just thinly veiled schemes siphoning off taxpayer money. The whole US36 debacle proved to me that they aren't capable of negotiating a good deal on the part of the taxpayers.

> Wait, who said that they need to compress the air all the way to Earth pressure?

No one. The Hyperloop alpha paper explicitly contradicts this assumption on page 18, where the flow diagram gives the compressor input at 99 Pa and the output at 2.1 kPa (a 21:1 pressure ratio).

http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/hyperloop_alpha-201...

When does Hyperloop One get a go on the Dubai - Abu Dhabi line?[1] That's quite feasible. Straight route across flat, open desert.

Hyperloop One is a maglev vactrain. It doesn't "fly" aerodynamically, like Musk's original plan. This means a more expensive track in the tube, but higher riding height. Musk's original plan required a ride height of 0.3mm to 1.3mm, which means a really smooth tube. Maglev clearances are typically 1-2 cm, which is much easier to maintain over many kilometers of tube. Also, only the track has to be flat; the tube can have seams and expansion joints, so it can be fabricated by standard piping techniques. Vehicles can draw power from the track; Musk's original design was battery powered. Maglev track is expensive, though. That's why maglevs are rare.

If somebody in Dubai has the money, there's no reason it shouldn't work. Japan already has 42km of maglev running, part of the Tokyo-Osaka maglev route under construction, with full-sized trains. That's mostly in tubular tunnels. Hyperloop One is easier than that.

Hyperloop One's test track uses a 3.4 meter tube, instead of Musk's original 2.4m tube. Maybe larger in the production version. Musk's very optimistic cost proposals are based on his undersized tube. Hyperloop One will work, but it may not be all that cheap.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fu-6IDp3Fo

Of course it is. Organizations that benefit from road infrastructure expansion actively work to discredit and defund government transit initiatives.

Historically there is the example of 1920s era GM funding initiatives to convert tram lines into bus lines, which required further investment in road networks, which benefited their private car ownership business as transit was defunded and discredited.