Originally posted by royalchickenThe idea is to pump out all the air in the tunnel and fire a mag-lev train down it. 18 minutes of acceleration to a 5000 mph cruise, then 18 minutes of deceleration at the end.
I can't be bothered to read the article, but how do they plan to move people through a tunnel at well over 3 000 mph?
I think it's a pipe dream too, mainly because of the cost, plus I can't see any need to get across the Atlantic that fast for most people. The same thing could be done less expensively and with greater flexibility by something like the scramjet.
Originally posted by KneverKnightI don't have the right plugins to view it, so I can't find out how deep this tunnel is, but it would require enormous strength to pull a vacuum and not have it collapse under the water pressure at the deepest parts of the bottom of the Atlantic. Also, how would it handle the necessary 3-dimensional bends in the pipe at that speed?
The idea is to pump out all the air in the tunnel and fire a mag-lev train down it. 18 minutes of acceleration to a 5000 mph cruise, then 18 minutes of deceleration at the end.
I think it's a pipe dream too, mainly because of the cost, plus I can't see any need to get across the Atlantic that fast for most people. The same thing could be done less expensively and with greater flexibility by something like the scramjet.
Originally posted by royalchickenI don't know exactly how it would take a curve, the idea is to have the tunnel as straight as possible.
I don't have the right plugins to view it, so I can't find out how deep this tunnel is, but it would require enormous strength to pull a vacuum and not have it collapse under the water pressure at the deepest parts of the bottom of the Atlantic. Also, how would it handle the necessary 3-dimensional bends in the pipe at that speed?
The tunnel won't hug the ocean bottom, the pressure is too great. It will be tethered some distance beneath the surface to hundreds of anchors.
Originally posted by KneverKnightWhile they're spending money, why not just buy rights to the Atlantic, build the thing on the surface, and give shipping companies a reason to go find the Northwest Passage?
I don't know exactly how it would take a curve, the idea is to have the tunnel as straight as possible.
The tunnel won't hug the ocean bottom, the pressure is too great. It will be tethered some distance beneath the surface to hundreds of anchors.
