Monday, August 12, 2013

Newsflash folks Elon Musk didnt invent Hyperloop

Newsflash folks (sorry for any science fiction reader.....who already know this) Elon Musk DIDNT invent Hyperloop.

This idea has been around forever eg from the Wikipedia page on vacuum trains
The modern concept of a vactrain, with evacuated tubes and maglev technology, was explored in the 1910s by American engineer Robert Goddard, who designed detailed prototypes with a university student. His train would have traveled from Boston to New York in 12 minutes, averaging 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h). The train designs were found only after Goddard's death in 1945 and his wife filed for the patents.
Russian professor Boris Weinberg offered a vactrain concept in 1914 in the book Motion without friction (airless electric ways).
Vactrains made headlines during the 1970s when a leading advocate, Robert M. Salter of RAND, published a series of elaborate engineering articles in 1972[5] and again in 1978.[6]
An interview with Robert Salter appeared in the LA Times (June 11, 1972). He discussed, in detail, the relative ease with which the U.S. government could build a tube shuttle system using technologies available at that time.


I remember reading it in a science fiction book sometime in the early 80's. I don't get why they heck reporters are so breathless about this.

Cheers,
Dean

2 comments:

  1. Except it is not a vacuum tube! Instead the 2m tube is normal air pressure, but the air column moves at 900 km/hr, powered up to that speed by huge fans at either end. 6-person pods are accelerated from the station via a rail-gun and injected into the 900km/hr airflow, where they coast to the other end , leave the airflow and decelerate with a reverse rail-gun. Once the air flow is up to speed very little energy is required to maintain the whole system.

    See why everyone is so interested?

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  2. hmmm i'm no physicist but efficiency loss on tube wall/air friction at 900km/hr is going to be huge?

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