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Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

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Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#81

Post by danielweber »

jonknee wrote: post #22
hyperbovine wrote: post #6

"If the position of the wall deviates from straightness by a few thousandths of an inch, you could crash ... if you lose the vacuum in the tube, everybody in the tube will crash ... the vehicle's compressor ... can't fail, or the pods will crash ... The 5-mile test track is estimated to cost about $100 million, which Hyperloop Transportation Technologies hopes to pay for with its initial public offering (IPO) later t…

You could have said the same thing about a guy trying to build a Mars colony...

AS someone who wants to go to Mars, anyone trying to sell you investment shares in a colonization effort is a scammer.

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#82

Post by sevenadrian »

Igglyboo wrote: post #70
Animats wrote: post #66

They have a web site.[1] They claim to be hiring. They claim to have funding. The web site looks like someone loaded up the generic cool new startup template and stuck in some concept art in the indicated places. There's no useful information about the technology or the business. The big problem with this is not the technology. It's land acquisition. As with high speed rail, you need a right of way that's straight or…

Their logo looks extremely similar to the Visual Studio 2010 logo. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LB4PjiDdgU/Ur_tPvwj5HI/AAAAAAAAAo...

Ha, I knew I recognized it. Thanks for proving I'm not crazy, at least because of this.

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#83

Post by trhway »

if we're going to build a 5 mile evacuated pipe while not try to use it as a prototype of a space launch? At modest 50G acceleration the exit speed would be 2.5km/s - not a production, but it would be a good test prototype to get real funding for the real deal to the top of Kilimanjaro.

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#84

Post by brenschluss »

Someone1234 wrote: post #62
huuu wrote: post #18

* Invent something totaly new * Test it on a small scale * Get a lot of negative comments on HN Com'on people. This might be the transportation of the future!

As opposed to Elon Musk being a sacred cow who we cannot criticise at all without being attacked/downmodded? The Hyperloop, to put it generously, has a lot of "unanswered questions" and practical limitations. Just considering the safety (and escape) of this thing takes you into areas that raise legitimate concern. I'm not going to discount it completely with aircraft still around and failing as badly as they fail, it…

> The Hyperloop, to put it generously, has a lot of "unanswered questions" and practical limitations.

It's a chicken-and-egg problem. New things are uncertain, uncertain things are risky, risky things aren't funded, thus new things stay new.

"This new technology is expensive because it's new!" is a tautology that gets us nowhere in terms of progress at a social level.

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#85

Post by zaroth »

minot wrote: post #43
bliti wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems to be related to how startups are suddenly valuated at billions without much of a moat or intrinsic value. Just for having "users".

Meh. If I give you $100 for a 1*10^-6% stake in your company with a guarantee that you will pay me back at least $100 before honoring any other debts or issue, are you really a ten billion dollar startup?

It's most entertaining to subtract any preference off the top of the valuation. I wish it became a trend. Particularly for preferences with multipliers!

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#86

Post by jacquesm »

gargarplex wrote: post #12
ChuckMcM wrote: post #9

Sigh "The 5-mile test track is estimated to cost about $100 million, which Hyperloop Transportation Technologies hopes to pay for with its initial public offering (IPO) later this year, according to Navigant's blog." Run away, run far far away. They might as well do a kickstarter. Seriously, what sort of "business" is a 5 mile test track? Lets say you charged $25 for a "5 minute ride on the hyperloop!" and you got 8…

$/mi will reduce with scale.

That's an interesting one. This is actually contrary to most conventional wisdom regarding such projects, rail for instance does not have a reduced cost / mile if the distances get longer. (Airtravel does, however).

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#87

Post by seanflyon »

msandford wrote: post #65
seanflyon wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The design only calls for one station at each end. Many people have said that the best way to deal with thermal expansion is to let the ends (at the 2 stations) move ~500 feet at each end. The alternative is expansion joint every so often along the tube.

If you do that, though, then all of your support structures the whole way through need to allow the tube to move inside of them. The tube is supposed to be supported every 100 feet or so (if I remember correctly) so that means that the last pylon has to be at least 500 feet from the station and that the tube has to be able to slide inside the support. I suspect that you'd see a lot of wear on the tube that's sliding…

I think that there are a lot of options for reducing friction wear. My first thought would be to put wheels between the tube an its supports (attached to the supports, not the tube).

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#88

Post by melling »

Animats wrote: post #66

They have a web site.[1] They claim to be hiring. They claim to have funding. The web site looks like someone loaded up the generic cool new startup template and stuck in some concept art in the indicated places. There's no useful information about the technology or the business. The big problem with this is not the technology. It's land acquisition. As with high speed rail, you need a right of way that's straight or…

China is now building a low-speed maglev that should be operational later this year.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_S1,_BCR

China opened 32 new high-speed rail routes in one day last December.

http://qz.com/308791/china-flexes-its-high-speed-rail-muscle...

By the time the hyperloop connects the 400 miles between SF and LA, China will have 30,000-40,000 miles of high-speed rail.

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#89

Post by swalsh »

Igglyboo wrote: post #70
Animats wrote: post #66

They have a web site.[1] They claim to be hiring. They claim to have funding. The web site looks like someone loaded up the generic cool new startup template and stuck in some concept art in the indicated places. There's no useful information about the technology or the business. The big problem with this is not the technology. It's land acquisition. As with high speed rail, you need a right of way that's straight or…

Their logo looks extremely similar to the Visual Studio 2010 logo. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LB4PjiDdgU/Ur_tPvwj5HI/AAAAAAAAAo...

I think they need to change either the colors or the symbol... but having both is throwing me off :D

Re: Hyperloop Gets Test Track in California

#90

Post by mortehu »

jcfrei wrote: post #33
hyperbovine wrote: post #6

"If the position of the wall deviates from straightness by a few thousandths of an inch, you could crash ... if you lose the vacuum in the tube, everybody in the tube will crash ... the vehicle's compressor ... can't fail, or the pods will crash ... The 5-mile test track is estimated to cost about $100 million, which Hyperloop Transportation Technologies hopes to pay for with its initial public offering (IPO) later t…

Exactly. How can you do an IPO without any earnings? NYSE requires at least $10 mil over 3 years before they even list a company - I'm assuming other exchanges are similar. And if they don't list it on a major exchange, I doubt they can raise that amount of money...

There's an exchange called NASDAQ that have different sets of financial requirements you can satisfy to get listed. Some of them don't require any earnings at all, e.g. Nasdaq Global Select Market, Standard 4.

https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/assets/initialguide.pdf

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