this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2023
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The vacuum is the hard part, not the maglev. You would need to enclose the entire track inside if a vacuum, and that world be ridiculously expensive and practically impossible with current technology. It's already very expensive to build a tunnel for a train, which is why they are avoided if possible. But this would need to be all tunnel that is air tight, so even more expensive than regular train tunnels.
To put it into perspective, the current largest manmade vacuum chamber is at a NASA research facility in Ohio. It's a cylinder with a diameter of 100 feet and a height of 122 feet. If this were laid on its side, about 1.5 New York subway cars could fit inside. The largest vacuum ever made can barely fit the vehicle inside, let alone allow it to travel between two different places where the extra speeds would be warranted.
That kinda puts it in perspective. What about particular vaccum? Or just where the tracks meet the train. That's the only bit with drag ?
The drag is air against the whole body of the train, so you need vacuum everywhere.
Assuming that you could build such a big vacuum there would be safety concerns. What if there's an accident in the tube? Does everyone in the train depressurize and die? Assuming people can survive and get out of the train car, now they're in a tube that's 100 miles long. How can you build emergency exits in a system designed to be as airtight as possible?
Of course. What a thiccy
That kinda puts it in perspective. What about particular vaccum? Or just where the tracks meet the train. That's the only bit with drag ?
That kinda puts it in perspective. What about particular vaccum? Or just where the tracks meet the train. That's the only bit with drag ?