Would you travel by hyperloop?

[pixy0stix]

www.cnn.com/2015/10/19/tech/hyperloop-musk-future-cities/index.html?sr=fbCNN101915hyperloop-musk-future-cities0644PMVODtopLink&linkId=18066403

(CNN)In 2013, Elon Musk -- the entrepreneur behind PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX -- took an old idea from 19th century and re-imagined it.

The result? Hyperloop, a transportation system that might change the way we think of mobility, through vacuum technology.

Musk made his vision for this sustainable rapid transport system of the future publicly available, patent free.

He called on the best and the brightest to rally together to help him build it.

"When you are an entrepreneur it's all about doing something that has an impact" explains Dirk Albhorn, creator of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, which has taken up the mission of making Musk's vision a reality, using a crowd sourcing of brains who contribute expertise for stock options.

The Hyperloop works by creating low pressure inside a tube.

This low pressure then allows a capsule full of people to travel from point to point at very high speeds - just like how an airplane can travel fast at high altitudes with very little energy.

A journey from Los Angeles to Las Vegas could take as little as 20 minutes, at a subsonic speed of 760 miles per hour. That's faster than commercial aircraft, which generally cruise at about 550mph.

The whole system is powered by alternative energy, with the potential to produce more than it uses.

The focus for the first Hyperloop is in California, a state rife with tech exes and Silicon Valley billionaires who can see the technology's potential.

The testing ground is Quay Valley, described as a model town for the 21st century, an eco-city development set to absorb California's growing population.

Leading the design team with HTT is Craig Hodgetts, a renowned architect and UCLA professor: "One of the things that's in my DNA is automotive design and that is why I am so involved in the Hyperloop".

The mechanisms for frictionless travel are handled by the masters of vacuum tech, Orelikon, who created the zero pressure environment for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

However, the major barrier might not be technical.

"How are we going to make sure that people are actually willing to get into a pod and travel at 760 mph?" asks Andrew Liu, New Ventures VP for AECOM, who are designing Hyperloop's pylons and infrastructure. "From that aspect I think a lot of that is education future consumer," Liu adds.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies believe that they could begin construction as soon as 2016, while the first passenger service might come as early as 2019.

Watch the video above to find out more

[eclaires]

Seems more reasonable than driving, lol.

[sparrowsong]

I love this guy. I always forget when the question comes up, that he needs to be on my dream dinner party list. He must be fascinating to talk to.

[Skyesthelimit1212]

No this doesn't sound dangerous at all....

[Deleted]

No way. I have a headache just thinking about it.

[elleblue]

I will not be volunteering to be the guinea pig, but once all the kinks are worked out it'll be really convenient. lol

[Deleted]

Every piece on this concept requires at least one Futurama reference.

[ttt]

Oct 19, 2015 14:47:21 GMT -5 elleblue said:

I will not be volunteering to be the guinea pig, but once all the kinks are worked out it'll be really convenient. lol

Yeah I'm going to let lots of other people do it first lol. 

[helicase]

I wonder what such a high speed would do to the human body. A relatively gentle acceleration/deceleration would be a necessity.

[LadySusan]

"The whole system is powered by alternative energy, with the potential to produce more than it uses."

Riiiiight.

I'll get more excited when there is an actual tube line and not just an article full of magically optimistic statements.

[Deleted]

So it would be like the Jetsons? Sure, I'd travel that way.

[orangello]

Faced with the choice between unknown scary new technology and planes full of crazy people and face biters, I say bring on the Hyperloop!

[Deleted]

Honestly, if it shortens the amount of time I'm forced to travel with my kids, sign me up.

[downtoearth]

Did nobody see what happened on Big Hero 6 when they tried to do this?! Can we not learn from cartoons (and our kids) that these ideas aren't great.

Now Harry Potter books have Floo-powder and apparition - those look safer and more useful than hyperloop. Can't someone work on these?

[josieposy]

Would I be the first? No. Would I eventually try it? Sure!

Haven't you guys ever sat at the bank drive-thru and thought "that looks like fun!"?

[wawa]

I skimmed - did the article mention that there is a design competition on right now for designing the actual pod? The infrastructure is all Elon and Pals, but they sent out an open call for designs for the pod itself.

eta: design comp info: www.spacex.com/hyperloop

I'm fascinated. It came up in a recent meeting actually. Along with these guys: northeastmaglev.com/

I'd love to see one of these things succeed.  I can't wait for the first time I get to do a study where I can take a mode split reduction for living in the future.  I'm going to sneak that into a footnote somewhere too.  *Note: all trip estimations include 27% discount for living in the future.  Estimates based on Jetsons Season 4 episode 3.

(on a side note, can I express my total and utter annoyance with our esteemed governor who's totally willing to be all, "yay maglev! looks awesome! Bring it on! because nobody is asking him to fund it next year and he thinks he can get away with only using federal dollars for now, but the goddamn metro line running E-W across Baltimore providing a much needed missing transit link is shitcanned as an ill-conceived boondoggle? www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-hogan-maglev-20150604-story.html fucking politics janking up my work.)

[Skyesthelimit1212]

Oct 19, 2015 15:08:29 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Did nobody see what happened on Big Hero 6 when they tried to do this?! Can we not learn from cartoons (and our kids) that these ideas aren't great.

Now Harry Potter books have Floo-powder and apparition - those look safer and more useful than hyperloop. Can't someone work on these?

I don't know about that, I don't want to end up in someone's bathroom by mistake or splinched.  

[josieposy]

I really wish I could remember where I read about this earlier this year. It is a pretty interesting concept.

[FloFTW]

It's not really THAT different than an airplane...sure!

[meshaliuknits]

Oct 19, 2015 14:52:26 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Every piece on this concept requires at least one Futurama reference.

I was scrolling down to make sure someone got this in.

[meshaliuknits]

Oct 19, 2015 15:02:32 GMT -5 @ruralrabbit1 said:

So it would be like the Jetsons? Sure, I'd travel that way.

Maybe we could get him to work on fold up cars next.

[pixy0stix]

But the real question is - would the seats recline?