How Does Elon Musk's Hyperloop Work?

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.

skastel 12 years ago |

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

chiph 12 years ago |

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.

abdinoor 12 years ago | |

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).

chiph 12 years ago | | |

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.

FlyingAvatar 12 years ago | | |

I'm pretty sure a subsonic rifle shot is still pretty loud. :)

chiph 12 years ago | | |

A friend has a rifle in 300 AAC Blackout. Subsonic ammo is far quieter than supersonic -- but you'd still want hearing protection. With a suppressor attached, it's quieter still -- you can fire it without wearing earplugs. But it's not "Hollywood quiet" - that's a movie myth.

VuongN 12 years ago |

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

IanDrake 12 years ago |

This is the most plausible and interesting interpretation I've heard yet.

yoavshapira2 12 years ago |

Good explanation!