Hyperloop: A Pneumatic Tube for People

Hyperloop: A Pneumatic Tube for People

By Michael Wolraich on Mon, 08/12/2013 - 8:28pm |

As a kid, I was fascinated by the pneumatic tubes that whisked checks and cash between bank tellers and drivers. I dreamed of a life-sized version that would hurtle me silently through a tube to some faraway destination.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk wants to make that dream come true. The founder of PayPal, Tesla motors, and Space-X unveiled what he calls the Hyperloop: a giant solar-powered tube that would deliver passengers 400-miles from San Francisco to L.A. in 30 minutes, faster than the speed of sound. He estimates that the system would cost $6 billion, a fraction of the $70 billion allocated for a high-speed train along the same route.

Skeptics abound, but Musk has a history of achieving what no one thought possible. I think it's totally tubular.

URL:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/12/us-musk-hyperloop-idUSBRE97B0U320130812

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I am right there with you as long as it doesn't go thunka-thunka-thunka at the end like the pneumatic tubes I remember....

by EmmaZahn on Tue, 08/13/2013 - 7:40pm

The Atlantic put together a "historic background" piece:

Pneumatic Tubes: A Brief History
Elon Musk is not the first inventor to dream of humans being speedily sucked through vacuums.
By Megan Garber. Aug 13 2013

by artappraiser on Tue, 08/13/2013 - 11:46pm

My, My. Can you imagine the motion sickness? Whipping along at those speeds. It does sound like a cool ride.

by trkingmomoe on Wed, 08/14/2013 - 12:41am

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