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Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
Hyperloop One claims that its prototype ultra-fast train has completed a first full systems test in a vacuum, reaching a speed of 70 mph. The sled was able to magnetically levitate on the track for 5.3 seconds and “reached nearly 2Gs of acceleration,” according to the company.
The test was conducted privately but Hyperloop One offered some video that included footage from testing. Based on that footage plus a few seconds of additional b-roll shared with media, a lightweight skeleton sled uses a linear motor to accelerate, levitates briefly, and then comes to a halt as the brakes are applied.
Hyperloop One was created as an answer to a challenge from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who wrote a white paper envisioning a mode of transportation that would send pods at speeds greater than 700mph using a low-friction environment and levitation using air bearings.
Source: Ars Technica
(Score: 2) by andersjm on Saturday July 15 2017, @10:06AM
The pressure on a 70% vacuum container is 0.7 bar. The pressure on a 99.9999% vacuum is 1 bar. That's not really a lot! The risk of structural failure for a roundish thing due to being subjected to 1 bar outside pressure is basically zero.
There's an engineering challenge in sealing to create and maintain a high vacuum, but there is no "Tim McVeigh" scenario.