Inventor Musk to share plans for high-speed travel

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By MARTHA MENDOZA

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Twice as fast as an airplane, cheaper than a bullet train and completely self-powered: that's the mysterious transportation system that inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk is promising to reveal design plans for Monday.

Musk has been dropping hints about his "Hyperloop" system for more than a year during public events, mentioning that it could never crash, would be immune to weather and would move people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in half an hour.

Coming from almost anyone else, the hyperbole would be hard to take seriously. But billionaire Musk - who sold his first computer program, a $500 space game called Blastar, at age 12 - has earned his reputation as an inventor and entrepreneur, co-founding online payment firm PayPal, electric luxury carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. and rocket-building company SpaceX.

During a Tesla earnings call Thursday, Musk said he would reveal plans for the Hyperloop on Monday. But he said he is too focused on other projects to consider actually building it.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130812/DA8493281.html

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File- This June 15, 2012 file photo shows SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk pausing during his commencement speech for Caltech graduates in Pasadena, Calif. Twice as fast as an airplane, cheaper than a bullet train and completely self-powered: that's the mysterious transportation system that inventor and entrepreneur Musk is promising to reveal design plans for Monday Aug. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

[Berlum]

1. Whoopee!

[HereSince1628]

4. Yes, the story is a memory trigger for Pop Science magazines from the '50s & '60s n/t

[kentauros]

9. His idea has a better chance of "getting off the ground."

He'll still have to deal with "never lead, only follow" bureaucracies, but he's probably got enough connections to convince even the button-down bureaucrats

Here are some links for everyone to peruse:

http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/itrans1.htm
http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/itrans2.htm

[liberal N proud]

2. I don't know but it sounds like it will never happen

"too focused on other projects to consider actually building it"

Between that and the attacks it will receive from the traditional transportation sources in this world, Car and Plane with help from the oil industry, nothing will come of it unfortunately.

Too bad because what I heard it sounds like a cool technology.

[ewagner]

3. Cynical....but probably true...

It doesn't sound like he's committed to it and there will be the inevitable attacks by other financial interests.

[zeemike]

5. And it is not new at all.

I saw an article in 1969 that purposed the same thing and it was never even considered...
And that too was not new...the idea dates back to 1870 and was actually built in NYC...the story is interesting and shows how the status quo crushes innovation.

Beach Pneumatic Transit
In 1869, Alfred Ely Beach and his Beach Pneumatic Transit Company of New York began constructing a pneumatic subway line beneath Broadway. (Beach had earlier demonstrated the basic system at the American Institute Exhibition in 1867.) Funneled through a company he set up, Beach put up $350,000 of his own money to bankroll the project.[1] Built in only 58 days,[2] its single tunnel, 312 feet (95 m) long, 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter, was completed in 1870 and ran under Broadway from Warren Street to Murray Street.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit[3]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Mandatory link to Klaatu, "Sub-Rosa Subway"

What a great album.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaatu_(band)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub-Rosa_Subway

Sub-Rosa Subway" is a song written by the Canadian progressive rock band Klaatu, from their album 3:47 EST, describing the efforts of Alfred Ely Beach to create the original New York Subway. His work is described as secretive (hence sub rosa). The song made it to #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 as the B-side to "Calling Occupants".

The song is best known for sparking the rumour that the band was The Beatles in disguise. The vocals and instrumentals are in a Beatlesque style with chord progressions similar to the Beatles' "Blackbird" and "It's All Too Much", as an homage to the band.

[zeemike]

7. Wow...thanks for that.

I did not know about that song, but I vaguely remember the buzz about the Beatles in disguise.

[sufrommich]

8. Is it a series of tubes ?

[dothemath]

11. and dump trucks?

eom

[Rain Mcloud]

10. I love the idea of a hyper sonic underground transport

but i would be much happier with an hardened underground smart grid.
They throw away billions wiretapping the american people trying to thwart maybe 100 overseas terrorists and yet the existing infrastructure is vulnerable to sunspots and is expensive to maintain.
The inefficiencies in the current system mean higher costs for you and me in line maintenance and through back up generators which run but must stay offline until they are needed.

Alternative fuel sources plus electric vehicles on a smart grid can be a game changer because it would dramatically reduce the need for back up generators,during an emergency both sources of power(cars plus alternative energy i/e wind,solar,geo-thermal,hydro)would step in and provide power until the grid is restored.
Transmission costs would also be substantially lowered increasing efficiency and the savings passed on to the consumer.
This is a National security issue but as usual our friends,the 1% are shortsighted enough just to see profits for very little outlay via good buddy contracts from Uncle Sugar.

One billion dollars invested in rapid charging stations along the US interstate system would promote sales of electric vehicles by extending the range of these vehicles from coast to coast making them a viable means of transportation for the masses.
Switching from Gasoline to electric would vastly reduce the use of foreign oil(450 Billion per year based on 2007 consumption)and remove a major source of funding for extremist terrorist groups.

There is much information on these subjects out there on the inter-web-itubes for those interested.

[Kingofalldems]

12. I want.