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- Apr 2, 2011
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Gallium and Mercury function in similar ways. They degrade the mechanical properties of the metal.
I used the bomb as a terrible example of a failure where train passengers would experience catastrophic decompression. The other example was meant to be catastrophic pressure increases. Both are...let's call it grisly in the extreme. If either actually happened you wouldn't be able to tell what bits belonged to whom.
Incorrect, or at least partially mistaken. The design was a function of the extreme temperatures experienced. The coefficient of thermal expansion (in meters/meter/degree C) variation between materials meant that once fully heated, the internal forces would rip the structure apart unless they could expand beyond what was allowed by sealed components. As such, the plane leaked on the ground but once heated up was presumably quite tightly sealed (presumably because I have not observed, but because the planes didn't explode or crash.
Tesla doesn't work. Company has only reported a profit in a single quarter of its existence so far.
There were many rumors stemming from the 1970s about nuclear subterrene boring machines which could be made into a near complete vacuum. It would allow for travel at 1000s of miles per hour underground connecting military installations at major cities.
There's a rather vast gulf between profitability, and functionality.
To that point, SpaceX is a failure on profitability. Tesla is structured as a profit sink, largely subsidized by grants, until hopefully the market penetration becomes such that their costs produce a viable company. As much as I hate to say, the Simpsons did a good job with Musk. He's not thinking about today, or tomorrow. He's pitching ideas and finding ways to get other people to support them until technology and thinking make them profitable.
With all this said, this is Musk's invasion of Russia in the winter. Hyperloop doesn't need a near perfect vacuum, but the one they intend to create is crazy dangerous. People seem not to understand that atmospheric pressure is substantial, and that even a 1% atmosphere tube would require huge amounts of energy. There is no material science that will solve this, or technology that will allow it. You're looking at pure physics, and a project scale that is orders of magnitude too big. You can't just create a new industry with subsidies, you've got to find a way to overcome variables which aren't trivial.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-expansion-coefficients-d_95.html
Aluminum = 21-24 M/M*10^-6/Degree K
Steel = 9.9-17.3 M/M*10^-6/Degree K
Length of West Hyperloop is 121 miles = 194731 meters
Do the math. If you had just a few degrees difference in a steel tube you're looking at several meters of shrinkage or expansion. Of course, that's going to be uneven. Now you're also looking at a physical expansion or contraction of the tube length. Volume in a tube is PI()*r^2*L (r being tube controlled, L being a function of thermal expansion and contraction), so you're going to have to account for those vacuum pumps and relief valves equalizing pressure constantly. The test track is a joke because all of the big problems aren't there. It's like designing a car and telling everyone that the car is 90% production ready because you've settled on the shape of the headlight bezels. Yes, you've surmounted some of the challenge. On the other hand, the challenge bested is not a significant step toward addressing the big issues.
Tesla bested the question of energy storage by building their own battery factory. SpaceX bested the issue of rocket design by having a few explode (I still wouldn't pay to ride one of them, for fear of not coming back). Hyperloop has bested....nothing. They can weld up a tube and create a vacuum. The facilities that Nitride coat steel are more impressive, given that they produce something useful with a vacuum chamber. What has been demonstrated thus far is that we've made no meaningful progress toward ideas made in the early 1900's. The maglev trains running at 200+ mph are real, demonstrated reliable, and don't require magic to work.
-Note: anyone mentioning the insane clown posse after the above must flagellate themselves.
-edit-
What you are complaining about is a TEST tube so no none of the obvious "things" required to make this work are not in place. This tube was meant to test speeds and the technology involved. Your other complaint involve practical usage and how to implement that, Im sure that even prior to build this TEST tube the people behind already figured that out and isnt part of this particular test phase. SO ya, my guess is that they are way ahead of you on everything you pointed out.
Imagine a test track for a car, which was only two car lengths long. Said track was composed of ideal surfaces to drive on, ideal atmospheric conditions, and ideal atmospheric properties. Inside said test track, your car barely started. It inched 3/4 of a car length forward before running out of gasoline. It cost twenty thousand dollars to produce the car. Finally, the car took eight hours to do the 3/4 of a car length worth of movement.
Is this car a success?
Objectively:
1) The car is inefficient.
2) The car didn't go very far.
3) The car was slower than conventional travel methods.
4) The cost was insane.
That's what the team demonstrated. Under ideal conditions the massive investment produced transportation less efficient than what we have already. Heck, I didn't even see them using their "track mounted solar array" to power the vacuum pumps.
If you fail that hard, under ideal conditions, then you aren't ready to start an ambitious project. You need to stop, consider the idea, and determine how to proceed. Hyperloop is a project based upon a name and vague theoretical promises. It's the prospect of winning big in Las Vegas, only less likely because real risk to human life isn't fundamentally part of a Las Vegas casino.
If you want to disagree, then I'd suggest showing us something better. Not CG images, not an artist's rendering, and definitely not a promise from somebody who has as spotty a track record as Musk (despite the huge PR the man garners).
I like Nathan Fillion as an actor. He's an idiot when it came to solar roadways. An argument from authority, on a project that is literally without authorities, is a poor argument. I'd be interested in how the DoT even responds to this insanity when someone demonstrates how many different ways this project could fail. This is why flying cars exist, but are so heavily regulated. Dangerous items require large oversight.
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