[Samurai]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

But how practical and economical is this to transport masses of passengers? Let alone the risk of an implosion of the pathway tube, the cost of construction and maintenance is likely to be horrendous.

I think it is done because of oomph factor, which plays very well in the stock market. Telsa is the 6th most valuable car company, while they have sold less than 1 million cars in total.

If someone just builds a better train, their stock market valuation will be so-so compared to a company that builds the fastest, no matter how impractical.

[Samarth 619]

Originally Posted by Zen2001

Have they factored in the risk of deceleration injury to the intra cranial, intra thoracic and intra abdominal organs and the effect that these speeds have on the velocity of normal blood circulation?
Would be similar to coming to a near halt from a speed of 700kph in a second, should something go wrong.
It's all good to have completely " healthy" and "normal" humans for the test conditions - what would happen if someone with an arterial stent, carotid/cerebral aneurysm, DVT etc were to travel in it?

We already move at 220 kms/ second in the Milky Way Galaxy, so speed is not an issue (although we can argue this speed is not within our gravity zone).

More than the speed, its the acceleration (increase rate of speed) that matters here. And in terms of acceleration, we can keep it low, quite like an airplane.
In fighter jets, females face the problems you mentioned more severely than males, and they go upto 9G acceleration (9 times the original gravity!). But that's clearly a very high level which this Hyperloop won't achieve...

Most airplane related health problems are again due to cabin air pressure, not speed/ acceleration.

The bigger issue, I would stress is, vacuum and its disasterly consequences. One leak and the system collapses like a crushed Bisleri bottle... It needs to be rethought.

[Zen2001]

Originally Posted by Samarth 619

We already move at 220 kms/ second in the Milky Way Galaxy, so speed is not an issue (although we can argue this speed is not within our gravity zone).

More than the speed, its the acceleration (increase rate of speed) that matters here. And in terms of acceleration, we can keep it low, quite like an airplane.
In fighter jets, females face the problems you mentioned more severely than males, and they go upto 9G acceleration (9 times the original gravity!). But that's clearly a very high level which this Hyperloop won't achieve...

Most airplane related health problems are again due to cabin air pressure, not speed/ acceleration.

The bigger issue, I would stress is, vacuum and its disasterly consequences. One leak and the system collapses like a crushed Bisleri bottle... It needs to be rethought.

Your argument of us already moving at 220km/sec is not a valid argument (because gravity prevents us from taking off).
Acceleration and deceleration (rapid) are the main issues, as you said. Air force pilots have to train and accustom to supersonic speeds; they don't hop on just casually.
Also assuming, cabin pressure is normal, the circulatory problems will still occur in predisposed and otherwise seemingly healthy individuals simply owing to dynamics of blood flow - even a sudden change from recumbent to upright posture causes postural hypotension in normal individuals)

Airplanes are pressurised only to prevent hypoxia of high altitude - oxygen concentration in the atmosphere at 30000 feet is simply not enough to sustain human breathing. Why, even at altitudes above 24000feet (Everest high camp), even trained expeditioners need supplemental oxygen. However, at ground level, this won't be the problem.

So basically, 2 issues - control of rate of change of speed (acceleration/deceleration) and vacuum management. The second system is already at work in many hospitals in India and abroad, where all patient samples, drugs, consumables etc are rapidly transported through vacuum "chutes" from wards, to labs, from stores to the OT, nursing stations etc (without any damages to the contents) within seconds across many floors.

[Zen2001]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Nothing would happen as they would find themselves in a pressurised cabin, feeling similar accelerations as on an airplane in similar comfort.

If folks with these conditions can fly on commercial jets, there is no reason they can’t travel on this hyperloop I imagine.

And as with aircrafts, if anything goes catastrophically wrong, most likely all aboard will die.

Jeroen

I agree nothing would happen if the accelerations and decelerations and cabin pressures are kept within the limits of ordinary human tolerance. Only think this would make it much slower than it is being shown to be. Especially adding in the time spent in embarking/disembarking, which would be necessary to keep all the safety precautions in place. Maybe it'll be more feasible for longer distances.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Zen2001

I agree nothing would happen if the accelerations and decelerations and cabin pressures are kept within the limits of ordinary human tolerance. Only think this would make it much slower than it is being shown to be. .

Not sure what you are referring to a “shown here”.

To put things a bit in context.

A commercial jet airliner accelerates to typical take off speed of about 160-180 knots in 20-30 seconds. If there are no speed restrictions it can be at double that speed in less than a few minutes.

Planes accelerate at 8 - 10 km/h/s That is very gradual, no drama, no discomfort.

Bullet / High speed train accelerate to 300 km/h in a matter of minutes.

So you can easily accelerate, very comfortable to very high speeds in a matter of minutes. Think plane, think high speed train and think twice as long and you’re there 500mph, just like that! Easy peasy!

This hyperloop has the potential to accelerate much faster, but is unlikely to do so, simply as it would not be comfortable.

The interesting thing is that a hyperloop system can accelerate at a much lower energy cost than the others. Once you have a vacuum, the energy cost to accelerate is very minimal, whereas on a plane or a train it is extremely high.

Jeroen