Thunderf00t, a physicist, critically assesses the Hyperloop concept, covering the vacuum, pressure, safety, and cost problems of high-speed tube travel. He argues the media accepted the claims uncritically.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN repeatedly cites it as the best skeptical engineering analysis of why Hyperloop is impractical.
“His videos on the hyperloop are pretty comprehensive and succinct about their reasoning.”HN comment, 2016
“His videos on the hyperloop are pretty comprehensive and succinct about their reasoning.”
Comprehensive, succinct reasoning on why the hyperloop is flawed.
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Thunderf00t isn't just some average Joe on the street. The guy has a PhD in chemistry and has dedicated a decade to educate the world at large about matters of science and intellectualism. The world would be a better place if we had more Thunderf00ts on YouTube. His videos on the hyperloop are pretty comprehensive and succinct about their reasoning. Why not watch them instead of mindlessly repeating the same strawman argument that every other Elon Musk fanboy/fangirl left on his videos? linkthis video
Strongly recommendsRed_TarsiusJan 2018
“I highly recommend his whole Busted! series.”
Skeptical analysis of Hyperloop from a physicist
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British scientist Philip E. Mason ( thunderfoot ) made several skeptical videos on Hyperloop. this video I highly recommend his whole Busted! series.
RecommendsimaginenoreOct 2016
“Thunderf00t did a good job summarizing the problems”
Summarizes the major challenges facing the hyperloop.
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I'm happy for them, but I'm yet to hear for anybody to address the major challenges that many people have raised. The major one being - the sudden pressurization in any point and the consequent shockwave traveling at the speed of sound, exploding the tube, killing everything in its way. Thunderf00t did a good job summarizing the problems: this video
RecommendsstcredzeroOct 2016
“I think this needs to be brought to more people's attention”
Debunks the hyperloop; deserves more attention.
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I think this needs to be brought to more people's attention, so I'm putting this in a top level comment: Thunderf00t's video: this video Debunked: link Also debunked: link
RecommendsproblemsOct 2016
“The best legitimate criticisms I've seen are here”
Best legitimate criticisms of vacuum tube transport.
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The best legitimate criticisms I've seen are here: this video Basically expansion and contraction as well as just plain vulnerability of running a vacuum make it extremely difficult to do practically. The phrase he uses, "all the problems of space travel except in a gun barrel" is a pretty accurate description of the issue. Any loss of vacuum will almost guarantee loss of life. No realistic demo has been done even on a small scale as of yet.
RecommendsRandgaltNov 2016
“Worth watching as he makes good arguments.”
Strong arguments against the hyperloop's technical practicality.
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The tone and sarcasm of this video aside, the guy makes strong arguments that the Hyperloop cannot work technically. Worth watching as he makes good arguments. this video edit: actually it can work technically, but it's not practical at all
RecommendsimaginenoreJan 2017
“Thunderf00t has an interesting video”
Technical criticisms of Hyperloop feasibility
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If you haven't seen the technical criticisms of Hyperloop, Thunderf00t has an interesting video: this video I haven't seen most of the issues he raises addressed.
RecommendsLaikaFOct 2017
“Thunderf00t has a good video on the problems with it.”
Problems with the Hyperloop concept
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Thunderf00t has a good video on the problems with it. this video He has some other good videos (solar roadways) but tends to spend to much time bashing creationists.
Cites itjodrellblankApr 2017
“It is infeasible, if it's going to be vacuum, for a pile of practical and safety reasons”
Practical and safety reasons a vacuum train is infeasible
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It is infeasible, if it's going to be vacuum, for a pile of practical and safety reasons: this video Maybe it will pivot into something not-as-originally-hyped by the same name.
Cites itdredmorbiusJun 2017
“he does make his point. Relevant bits start about 6m22s.”
Pressure and speed problems of Hyperloop, relevant segments timestamped
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1. Pressure. 2. Speed. 1600 km/s is pretty snappy. Thunderf00t tends to wibble on a bit and repeat repeat himself, but he does make his point. Relevant bits start about 6m22s. link Or at 10m28s in this video: this video
Cites itmozumderOct 2017Full comment
I don't know why they're doing this, except out of pure tech-broism. It's obviously not financially viable. Let's say it realistically costs $150 million a mile for the project (about average for tunnel boring - it'll actually be a lot more on the east coast due to it being solid rock and expensive labor, but let's be realistically optimistic). At 250 miles, that's $37.5 Billion right there. Let's be ridiculously generous and finance this over 50 years. Over 50 years, that's $750 million/year. Or, $2million/day. At $60/ticket, you need 34k daily riders. And that's only for building the tunnel. I haven't even factored in operating or finance costs, nevermind the millions of other expenses that this needs. Stations are normally the most expensive part of a system, for example, and a station in NYC might cost $1 billion by itself. Is this going to get 34,000 daily riders paying $60/ticket to NYC? I can see that happening with $10/ticket, but not at $60/ticket. For comparison, the entire DC Metro system itself has about 800k daily riders with about $5/trip. And then you have the stupid HyperLoop concept itself, which hasn't even been invented yet. It's based on small single-car vehicles, which may carry a couple dozen people at most. Already you can see capacity issues: To get 34,000 people a day 24-7, you need 1400 fully-packed rides a day, or one every 6 seconds. You're not going to get single-vehicles to share a track every six seconds. You're already capacity limited. How do
Cites itgitgudApr 2019
Debunking essay on why Hyperloop is not a good invention
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related topic: Elon's "Hyperloop" project has gained a lot of criticism too. Many [1] long video essays have been made to debunk why it's not a good invention. Now the hype has died down considerably and it seems a lot of people have lost faith in the idea... maybe they're losing faith in all of Musk's ventures... [1] this video
Cites itmynameisnooneDec 2023
“The problem with vacuum trains is they aren't workable with current materials, are impractical, and are too damn expensive.”
Vacuum trains impractical with current materials and too expensive
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Apples and oranges false equivocation of vastly different engineering problems. The problem with vacuum trains is they aren't workable with current materials, are impractical, and are too damn expensive. this video
Cites itjunonDec 2023
“Related thunderf00t videos”
Related Thunderf00t videos on Hyperloop
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Related thunderf00t videos: link and this video Those are for Elon's; Virgin also has a hyperloop which he's covered too: link and link
CriticalpokemongoawayAug 2018Full comment
A lot of his ideas are full of holes: Hyperloop: See all of the problems here: this video Boring company: summary of issues here: link SpaceX: How will we fund the amount of rocket fuel required to get the stuff to Mars that can produce an atmosphere? If producing an atmosphere isn't required, then how will indoor atmosphere be maintained sustainably (financially)? Matt Damon's math didn't seem to work out in that movie... Tesla: So far so good, but what about battery recycling? “We are at the very beginning in energy storage in general,” says Phil Hermann, chief energy engineer at Panasonic Eco Solutions. “Most of the projects currently going on are either demo projects or learning experiences for the utilities. There is very little direct commercial stuff going on. “Elon Musk is out there saying you can do things now that the rest of us are hearing and going, ‘really?’ We wish we could but it’s not really possible yet.” link SolarCity: Just look at the customer reviews so far: link I would urge Mr Musk to focus on Batteries & long-term Tesla ownership. It would be a shame for that not to work out! I hope this comment lasts for 5 years :)
CriticalgoldenkeyJun 2021Full comment
Elon wields a powerful influence, a cult following. Fault is a fuzzy concept, not restricted to binary blame. Combine the poor taste of Elon fucking around with a monetary instrument, and his cult risking their life savings on his every word, and grave losses are the result. People commit suicide all the time because of large investment losses. Don't be too quick to doubt the monetary and biological loss in the US and abroad his statements likely caused. Your argument hinges on Elon not being the "hand that pulls the trigger." It's really irrelevant as everyone on HN is intelligent enough to understand that Elon is responsible for his reckless persuasions of a populace that is on average, stupid. Yes, the average person is... stupid. Especially ones who worship this man. Here is just a fraction of Elon's record: [1] Pedo Tweet: link [2] Hyperloop Scam: this video [3] Boring Tunnel Scam: link [4] Autopilot Scam (11 confirmed deaths - should be called Enhanced Cruise Control instead): link [5] Founder of PayPal, a platform that has been freezing and stealing user's funds since 1998: link [6] Not even the founder of Tesla. He was an investor (using his grifted Paypal money - how many frozen accounts did it take?): link [6] Anti-union: link [7] Does not care for wellbeing of employees: link Elon is not Tony Stark or Iron Man. He is not a hero. He is not a villain. He is a highly intelligent man with many blind spots and a penchant for rash, poorly judged decisions. For
