

The Original Hyperloop, For Rocks - sunsu
http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/21/meet-the-original-hyperloop-for-rocks/

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mapt
This about says it all:

"They called my bluff when they got a contract for the ore car demo. None of
the Magplane people had much experience building actual hardware. My specialty
is doing the work that turns cool concepts, like a fusion reactor or an ore
transport, into a working system.

So I took the job, hired 6 engineers, and spent 1996 to 2000 working on the
ore car demo. I designed the motors to survive in a harsh mining environment.
The car was as simple as possible. Since ore isn’t in a hurry, the design
optimized at 40 MPH rather than 700 MPH. We didn’t need the expense or
complexity of magnetic levitation, and found some very rugged wheels made for
mining applications. They worked great."

So it's like a very high speed evacuated maglev... except... not at all.

.

The Hyperloop uses two stock features understood to be promising for most of a
century now:

A) An evacuated tube ( _NOT_ a pneumatic tube)

B Linear induction motors ( _NOT_ air pressure)

.

It _modifies_ these with three innovative design decisions:

1) A soft vacuum, with considerable air resistance, but within the
capabilities of high-efficiency vacuum pumps rather than deep into diminishing
returns

2) Several hovercraft skids inside the tube for levitation instead of maglev
or wheels, powered by onboard batteries, and a very weak electric
thruster/compressor with a high bypass to sustain speeds, reduce drag, and
maintain the air cushion

3) A large inner tube diameter relative to the vehicle, with sufficient
airspace that neither the craft itself, nor even the mild transonic
shockwaves, induce a gas piston effect.

If none of those three design features are there, it has zero to do with
Hyperloop. If it uses air pressure, wheels, or magnetic levitation, it has
nothing to do with hyperloop.

Stop title baiting, Techcrunch.

------
Lazare
From the article: "a Hyperloop-like maglev system" "the potential of maglev-
style systems".

The Hyperloop is not a maglev system (it uses air bearings), and the demo ore
transport system they're talking about is _also_ not a maglev system (it uses
actual wheels, although the implication is that it might have used maglev tech
in production).

Note to techcrunch: Maglev is not a word that means "cool" or "in a tube".

