How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

If it's any kind of open track, it'll have problems with sonic booms. 400 miles in 30 minutes is 800 mph, a speed which exceeds the speed of sound at sea-level (~ 760mph). The neighbors aren't going to like that.

Re: How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

#6

Post by VuongN » Tue, Jul 16, 2013, 5:30 PM UTC

We'll have to wait and see, but what I read was definitely plausible and sound. Intriguing indeed.

Re: How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

#7

Post by abdinoor » Tue, Jul 16, 2013, 5:30 PM UTC

chiph wrote: post #5

If it's any kind of open track, it'll have problems with sonic booms. 400 miles in 30 minutes is 800 mph, a speed which exceeds the speed of sound at sea-level (~ 760mph). The neighbors aren't going to like that.

Supersonic vehicles have been designed that minimize the size of the sonic boom. For example, the Lockheed Martin SAI produces a sonic boom 1% as big as the Concorde (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAI_Quiet_Supersonic_Transport).

Re: How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

#8

Post by skastel » Tue, Jul 16, 2013, 5:34 PM UTC

The real issue is the safety issue. Shutting down a vehicle moving at 2500 feet/sec without subjecting the occupants to unhealthy G-forces is going to be rather difficult. But who knows, the human body can certainly withstand some pretty intense shock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4tuvOer_GI

Re: How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

#9

Post by satellitecat » Tue, Jul 16, 2013, 5:48 PM UTC

Yesterday there was a post on here where Elon tweeted a reply to someone that his guess was the closest yet:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6046943

He seems to verify that there will be "pods" 2m wide, so it sounds like this will be tunnel- or tube-based.

Re: How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

#10

Post by chiph » Tue, Jul 16, 2013, 6:07 PM UTC

abdinoor wrote: post #7

chiph wrote: post #5

If it's any kind of open track, it'll have problems with sonic booms. 400 miles in 30 minutes is 800 mph, a speed which exceeds the speed of sound at sea-level (~ 760mph). The neighbors aren't going to like that.

Supersonic vehicles have been designed that minimize the size of the sonic boom. For example, the Lockheed Martin SAI produces a sonic boom 1% as big as the Concorde ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAI_Quiet_Supersonic_Transport ).

Hmm. Maybe it won't be a problem after all. The size of the sonic boom seems to correlate positively with the size of the wing surface. Since a track (or tube) based system wouldn't need much of a wing, it ought to have a pretty small boom.

However, I do want to point out that rifle shots are supersonic and are annoying to the neighbors, and they have no wings at all.