Hyperloop – Averting Global Collapse Via The New World Agora

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Hyperloop Agora Proposal:
14% of the measured world economy involves the movement of people and cargo. That’s 9 Trillion $USD. A system of prototypes and then actual tubes could be built by countless individuals throughout the world. The first ones would be in Silicon Valley and other important high-tech areas. This system would be a new class of absolute stateless property held by any and all who 1)help construct it, 2)pay for materials and laborers, 3)maintain and improve it, or 4)use it and buy tickets on it.

The first route would be built from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The second critical route would connect the 70 mile Darien Gap in Panama to connect North and South American transportation systems.

The third critical project would bridge the 51 mile wide Bering strait to connect Russia to Alaska. Then from there, work would begin both ways with either roads or tubes being built to connect the current American-Russian gap. This route would go from Magadan, Russia to Fairbanks, Alaska, which is a total distance of 1917 miles.

Once completed, this would connect nearly all the peoples of the world in a single Agora. This would force nations of the world to compete with each other for tourists and workers at unprecedented levels. This would bring about all kinds of changes for the better. This would provide a backbone of group ownership of infrastructure by individuals, one which hopefully would spread throughout the other components of transport systems.

Hyperloop – Alpha – Elon Musk and Compadres

Intro

The first several pages will attempt to describe the design in everyday
language, keeping numbers to a minimum and avoiding formulas and jargon. I
apologize in advance for my loose use of language and imperfect analogies.

The second section is for those with a technical background. There are no
doubt errors of various kinds and superior optimizations for elements of the
system. Feedback would be most welcome ­ please send to
hyperloop@spacex.com or hyperloop@teslamotors.com. I would like to thank
my excellent compadres at both companies for their help in putting this
together.

Background

When the California “high speed” rail was approved, I was quite disappointed,
as I know many others were too. How could it be that the home of Silicon
Valley and JPL ­ doing incredible things like indexing all the world’s knowledge
and putting rovers on Mars ­ would build a bullet train that is both one of the
most expensive per mile and one of the slowest in the world? Note, I am

hedging my statement slightly by saying “one of”. The head of the California
high speed rail project called me to complain that it wasn’t the very slowest
bullet train nor the very most expensive per mile.

The underlying motive for a statewide mass transit system is a good one. It
would be great to have an alternative to flying or driving, but obviously only if
it is actually better than flying or driving. The train in question would be both
slower, more expensive to operate (if unsubsidized) and less safe by two orders
of magnitude than flying, so why would anyone use it?

If we are to make a massive investment in a new transportation system, then
the return should by rights be equally massive. Compared to the alternatives, it
should ideally be:

· Safer
· Faster
· Lower cost
· More convenient
· Immune to weather
· Sustainably self-powering
· Resistant to Earthquakes
· Not disruptive to those along the route

Is there truly a new mode of transport ­ a fifth mode after planes, trains, cars
and boats ­ that meets those criteria and is practical to implement? Many ideas
for a system with most of those properties have been proposed and should be
acknowledged, reaching as far back as Robert Goddard’s to proposals in recent
decades by the Rand Corporation and ET3.

Unfortunately, none of these have panned out. As things stand today, there is
not even a short distance demonstration system operating in test pilot mode
anywhere in the world, let alone something that is robust enough for public
transit. They all possess, it would seem, one or more fatal flaws that prevent
them from coming to fruition.

Constraining the Problem

The Hyperloop (or something similar) is, in my opinion, the right solution for
the specific case of high traffic city pairs that are less than about 1500 km or
900 miles apart. Around that inflection point, I suspect that supersonic air
travel ends up being faster and cheaper. With a high enough altitude and the
right geometry, the sonic boom noise on the ground would be no louder than
current airliners, so that isn’t a showstopper. Also, a quiet supersonic plane
immediately solves every long distance city pair without the need for a vast
new worldwide infrastructure.

However, for a sub several hundred mile journey, having a supersonic plane is
rather pointless, as you would spend almost all your time slowly ascending and
descending and very little time at cruise speed. In order to go fast, you need to
be at high altitude where the air density drops exponentially, as air at sea level
becomes as thick as molasses (not literally, but you get the picture) as you
approach sonic velocity.

So What is Hyperloop Anyway?

Short of figuring out real teleportation, which would of course be awesome
(someone please do this), the only option for super fast travel is to build a tube
over or under the ground that contains a special environment. This is where
things get tricky.

At one extreme of the potential solutions is some enlarged version of the old
pneumatic tubes used to send mail and packages within and between buildings.
You could, in principle, use very powerful fans to push air at high speed
through a tube and propel people-sized pods all the way from LA to San
Francisco. However, the friction of a 350 mile long column of air moving at
anywhere near sonic velocity against the inside of the tube is so stupendously
high that this is impossible for all practical purposes.

Another extreme is the approach, advocated by Rand and ET3, of drawing a
hard or near hard vacuum in the tube and then using an electromagnetic
suspension. The problem with this approach is that it is incredibly hard to
maintain a near vacuum in a room, let alone 700 miles (round trip) of large
tube with dozens of station gateways and thousands of pods entering and
exiting every day. All it takes is one leaky seal or a small crack somewhere in
the hundreds of miles of tube and the whole system stops working.

However, a low pressure (vs. almost no pressure) system set to a level where
standard commercial pumps could easily overcome an air leak and the
transport pods could handle variable air density would be inherently robust.
Unfortunately, this means that there is a non-trivial amount of air in the tube
and leads us straight into another problem.

Overcoming the Kantrowitz Limit

Whenever you have a capsule or pod (I am using the words interchangeably)
moving at high speed through a tube containing air, there is a minimum tube to
pod area ratio below which you will choke the flow. What this means is that if
the walls of the tube and the capsule are too close together, the capsule will
behave like a syringe and eventually be forced to push the entire column of air
in the system. Not good.

Nature’s top speed law for a given tube to pod area ratio is known as the
Kantrowitz limit. This is highly problematic, as it forces you to either go slowly

or have a super huge diameter tube. Interestingly, there are usually two
solutions to the Kantrowitz limit ­ one where you go slowly and one where you
go really, really fast.

The latter solution sounds mighty appealing at first, until you realize that going
several thousand miles per hour means that you can’t tolerate even wide turns
without painful g loads. For a journey from San Francisco to LA, you will also
experience a rather intense speed up and slow down. And, when you get right
down to it, going through transonic buffet in a tube is just fundamentally a
dodgy prospect.

Both for trip comfort and safety, it would be best to travel at high subsonic
speeds for a 350 mile journey. For much longer journeys, such as LA to NY, it
would be worth exploring super high speeds and this is probably technically
feasible, but, as mentioned above, I believe the economics would probably
favor a supersonic plane.

The approach that I believe would overcome the Kantrowitz limit is to mount
an electric compressor fan on the nose of the pod that actively transfers high
pressure air from the front to the rear of the vessel. This is like having a pump
in the head of the syringe actively relieving pressure.

It would also simultaneously solve another problem, which is how to create a
low friction suspension system when traveling at over 700 mph. Wheels don’t
work very well at that sort of speed, but a cushion of air does. Air bearings,
which use the same basic principle as an air hockey table, have been
demonstrated to work at speeds of Mach 1.1 with very low friction. In this
case, however, it is the pod that is producing the air cushion, rather than the
tube, as it is important to make the tube as low cost and simple as possible.

That then begs the next question of whether a battery can store enough energy
to power a fan for the length of the journey with room to spare. Based on our
calculations, this is no problem, so long as the energy used to accelerate the
pod is not drawn from the battery pack.

This is where the external linear electric motor comes in, which is simply a
round induction motor (like the one in the Tesla Model S) rolled flat. This
would accelerate the pod to high subsonic velocity and provide a periodic
reboost roughly every 70 miles. The linear electric motor is needed for as little
as ~1% of the tube length, so is not particularly costly.

Making the Economics Work

The pods and linear motors are relatively minor expenses compared to the tube
itself ­ several hundred million dollars at most, compared with several billion
dollars for the tube. Even several billion is a low number when compared with
several tens of billion proposed for the track of the California rail project.

The key advantages of a tube vs. a railway track are that it can be built above
the ground on pylons and it can be built in prefabricated sections that are
dropped in place and joined with an orbital seam welder. By building it on
pylons, you can almost entirely avoid the need to buy land by following
alongside the mostly very straight California Interstate 5 highway, with only
minor deviations when the highway makes a sharp turn.

Even when the Hyperloop path deviates from the highway, it will cause minimal
disruption to farmland roughly comparable to a tree or telephone pole, which
farmers deal with all the time. A ground based high speed rail system by
comparison needs up to a 100 ft wide swath of dedicated land to build up
foundations for both directions, forcing people to travel for several miles just
to get to the other side of their property. It is also noisy, with nothing to
contain the sound, and needs unsightly protective fencing to prevent animals,
people or vehicles from getting on to the track. Risk of derailment is also not
to be taken lightly, as demonstrated by several recent fatal train accidents.

Earthquakes and Expansion Joints

A ground based high speed rail system is susceptible to Earthquakes and needs
frequent expansion joints to deal with thermal expansion/contraction and
subtle, large scale land movement.

By building a system on pylons, where the tube is not rigidly fixed at any point,
you can dramatically mitigate Earthquake risk and avoid the need for expansion
joints. Tucked away inside each pylon, you could place two adjustable lateral
(XY) dampers and one vertical (Z) damper.

These would absorb the small length changes between pylons due to thermal
changes, as well as long form subtle height changes. As land slowly settles to a
new position over time, the damper neutral position can be adjusted
accordingly. A telescoping tube, similar to the boxy ones used to access
airplanes at airports would be needed at the end stations to address the
cumulative length change of the tube.

Can it Really be Self-Powering?

For the full explanation, please see the technical section, but the short answer
is that by placing solar panels on top of the tube, the Hyperloop can generate
far in excess of the energy needed to operate. This takes into account storing
enough energy in battery packs to operate at night and for periods of extended
cloudy weather. The energy could also be stored in the form of compressed air
that then runs an electric fan in reverse to generate energy, as demonstrated
by LightSail.

Hyperloop Preliminary Design Study
Technical Section

1. Abstract

Existing conventional modes of transportation of people consists of four unique
types: rail, road, water, and air. These modes of transport tend to be either
relatively slow (i.e., road and water), expensive (i.e., air), or a combination of
relatively slow and expensive (i.e., rail). Hyperloop is a new mode of transport
that seeks to change this paradigm by being both fast and inexpensive for
people and goods. Hyperloop is also unique in that it is an open design concept,
similar to Linux. Feedback is desired from the community that can help
advance the Hyperloop design and bring it from concept to reality.

Hyperloop consists of a low pressure tube with capsules that are transported at
both low and high speeds throughout the length of the tube. The capsules are
supported on a cushion of air, featuring pressurized air and aerodynamic lift.
The capsules are accelerated via a magnetic linear accelerator affixed at
various stations on the low pressure tube with rotors contained in each capsule.
Passengers may enter and exit Hyperloop at stations located either at the ends
of the tube, or branches along the tube length.

In this study, the initial route, preliminary design, and logistics of the
Hyperloop transportation system have been derived. The system consists of
capsules that travel between Los Angeles, California and San Francisco,
California. The total trip time is approximately half an hour, with capsules
departing as often as every 30 seconds from each terminal and carrying 28
people each. This gives a total of 7.4 million people each way that can be
transported each year on Hyperloop. The total cost of Hyperloop in this
analysis is under $6 billion USD. Amortizing this capital cost over 20 years and
adding daily operational costs gives a total of about $20 USD (in current year
dollars) plus operating costs per one-way ticket on the passenger Hyperloop.

Useful feedback is welcomed on aspects of the Hyperloop design. E-mail
feedback to hyperloop@spacex.com or hyperloop@teslamotors.com.

2. Table of Contents
1. Abstract ………………………………………………………………..6
2. Table of Contents………………………………………………………6
3. Background …………………………………………………………….8
4. Hyperloop Transportation System……………………………………..9
4.1. Capsule ………………………………………………………….. 11
4.1.1. Geometry …………………………………………………… 13

4.1.2. Interior ……………………………………………………… 15
4.1.3. Compressor ………………………………………………… 17
4.1.4. Suspension ………………………………………………….. 20
4.1.5. Onboard Power……………………………………………… 22
4.1.6. Propulsion…………………………………………………… 22
4.1.7. Cost …………………………………………………………. 23
4.2. Tube …………………………………………………………….. 24
4.2.1. Geometry …………………………………………………… 25
4.2.2. Tube Construction………………………………………….. 26
4.2.3. Pylons and Tunnels ………………………………………… 27
4.2.4. Station Construction ……………………………………….. 31
4.2.5. Cost …………………………………………………………. 32
4.3. Propulsion……………………………………………………….. 32
4.3.1. Capsule Components (Rotor)……………………………….. 35
4.3.2. Tube Components (Stator) …………………………………. 36
4.3.3. Energy Storage Components ……………………………….. 37
4.3.4. Cost …………………………………………………………. 37
4.3.5. Propulsion for Passenger Plus Vehicle System …………….. 38
4.4. Route ……………………………………………………………. 38
4.4.1. Route Optimization…………………………………………. 40
4.4.1.1. Los Angeles/Grapevine – South ………………………….. 43
4.4.1.2. Los Angeles/Grapevine ­ North ………………………….. 45
4.4.1.2. I-5…………………………………………………………. 47
4.4.1.3. I-580/San Francisco Bay………………………………….. 48
4.4.3. Station Locations …………………………………………… 50
4.5. Safety and Reliability …………………………………………… 52
4.5.1. Onboard Passenger Emergency …………………………….. 52
4.5.2. Power Outage ………………………………………………. 53
4.5.2. Capsule Depressurization…………………………………… 53
4.5.3. Capsule Stranded in Tube ………………………………….. 54
4.5.4. Structural Integrity of the Tube in Jeopardy………………. 54
4.5.5. Earthquakes ………………………………………………… 54
4.5.6. Human Related Incidents…………………………………… 54
4.5.7. Reliability…………………………………………………. 55
4.6. Cost ………………………………………………………….. 55

6. Conclusions ………………………………………………………….. 56
7. Future Work …………………………………………………………. 57

3. Background

The corridor between San Francisco, California and Los Angeles, California is
one of the most often traveled corridors in the American West. The current
practical modes of transport for passengers between these two major
population centers include:

1. Road (inexpensive, slow, usually not environmentally sound)
2. Air (expensive, fast, not environmentally sound)
3. Rail (expensive, slow, often environmentally sound)

A new mode of transport is needed that has benefits of the current modes
without the negative aspects of each. This new high speed transportation
system has the following requirements:

1. Ready when the passenger is ready to travel (road)
2. Inexpensive (road)
3. Fast (air)
4. Environmentally friendly (rail/road via electric cars)

The current contender for a new transportation system between southern and
northern California is the “California High Speed Rail.” The parameters
outlining this system include:

1. Currently $68.4 billion USD proposed cost
2. Average speed of 164 mph (264 kph) between San Francisco and Los
Angeles
3. Travel time of 2 hours and 38 minutes between San Francisco and Los
Angeles
a. Compare with 1 hour and 15 minutes by air
b. Compare with 5 hours and 30 minutes by car
4. Average one-way ticket price of $105 one-way (reference)
a. Compare with $158 round trip by air for September 2013
b. Compare with $115 round trip by road ($4/gallon with 30 mpg
vehicle)

A new high speed mode of transport is desired between Los Angeles and San
Francisco; however, the proposed California High Speed Rail does not reduce
current trip times or reduce costs relative to existing modes of transport. This
preliminary design study proposes a new mode of high speed transport that
reduces both the travel time and travel cost between Los Angeles and San
Francisco. Options are also included to increase the transportation system to
other major population centers across California. It is also worth noting the
energy cost of this system is less than any currently existing mode of transport

(Figure 1). The only system that comes close to matching the low energy
requirements of Hyperloop is the fully electric Tesla Model S.

4. Hyperloop Transportation System

Hyperloop (Figure 2 through Figure 3) is a proposed transportation system for
traveling between Los Angeles, California, and San Francisco, California in 35
minutes. The Hyperloop consists of several distinct components, including:

1. Capsule:
a. Sealed capsules carrying 28 passengers each that travel along the
interior of the tube depart on average every 2 minutes from Los
Angeles or San Francisco (up to every 30 seconds during peak
usage hours).
b. A larger system has also been sized that allows transport of 3 full
size automobiles with passengers to travel in the capsule.

c. The capsules are separated within the tube by approximately 23
miles (37 km) on average during operation.
d. The capsules are supported via air bearings that operate using a
compressed air reservoir and aerodynamic lift.
2. Tube:
a. The tube is made of steel. Two tubes will be welded together in a
side by side configuration to allow the capsules to travel both
directions.
b. Pylons are placed every 100 ft (30 m) to support the tube.
c. Solar arrays will cover the top of the tubes in order to provide
power to the system.
3. Propulsion:
a. Linear accelerators are constructed along the length of the tube
at various locations to accelerate the capsules.
b. Stators are located on the capsules to transfer momentum to the
capsules via the linear accelerators.
4. Route:
a. There will be a station at Los Angeles and San Francisco. Several
stations along the way will be possible with splits in the tube.
b. The majority of the route will follow I-5 and the tube will be
constructed in the median.

Los San
Angeles, Francisco,
CA CA

In addition to these aspects of the Hyperloop, safety and cost will also be
addressed in this study.

The Hyperloop is sized to allow expansion as the network becomes increasingly
popular. The capacity would be 840 passengers per hour which more than
sufficient to transport all of the 6 million passengers traveling between Los
Angeles and San Francisco areas per year. In addition, this accounts for 70% of
those travelers to use the Hyperloop during rush hour. The lower cost of
traveling on Hyperloop is likely to result in increased demand, in which case
the time between capsule departures could be significantly shortened.

4.1. Capsule

Two versions of the Hyperloop capsules are being considered: a passenger only
version and a passenger plus vehicle version.

Hyperloop Passenger Capsule

Assuming an average departure time of 2 minutes between capsules, a
minimum of 28 passengers per capsule are required to meet 840 passengers per
hour. It is possible to further increase the Hyperloop capacity by reducing the
time between departures. The current baseline requires up to 40 capsules in
activity during rush hour, 6 of which are at the terminals for loading and
unloading of the passengers in approximately 5 minutes.

Hyperloop Passenger Plus Vehicle Capsule

The passenger plus vehicle version of the Hyperloop will depart as often as the
passenger only version, but will accommodate 3 vehicles in addition to the
passengers. All subsystems discussed in the following sections are featured on
both capsules.

For travel at high speeds, the greatest power requirement is normally to
overcome air resistance. Aerodynamic drag increases with the square of speed,
and thus the power requirement increases with the cube of speed. For
example, to travel twice as fast a vehicle must overcome four times the
aerodynamic resistance, and input eight times the power.

Just as aircraft climb to high altitudes to travel through less dense air,
Hyperloop encloses the capsules in a reduce pressure tube. The pressure of air
in Hyperloop is about 1/6 the pressure of the atmosphere on Mars. This is an
operating pressure of 100 Pascals, which reduces the drag force of the air by
1,000 times relative to sea level conditions and would be equivalent to flying
above 150,000 feet altitude. A hard vacuum is avoided as vacuums are
expensive and difficult to maintain compared with low pressure solutions.
Despite the low pressure, aerodynamic challenges must still be addressed.
These include managing the formation of shock waves when the speed of the
capsule approaches the speed of sound, and the air resistance increases
sharply. Close to the cities where more turns must be navigated, capsules
travel at a lower speed. This reduces the accelerations felt by the passengers,
and also reduces power requirements for the capsule. The capsules travel at
760 mph (1,220 kph, Mach 0.91 at 68 F or 20 C).

The proposed capsule geometry houses several distinct systems to reside within
the outer mold line (Figure 4).

Inlet Compressor Compressor Batteries
fan motor Firewall/ Seating Suspension
Air storage sound bulkhead (2 x 14)

In order to optimize the capsule speed and performance, the frontal area has
been minimized for size while maintaining passenger comfort (Figure 5 and
Figure 6).

The vehicle is streamlined to reduce drag and features a compressor at the
leading face to ingest oncoming air for levitation and to a lesser extent
propulsion. Aerodynamic simulations have demonstrated the validity of this
`compressor within a tube’ concept (Figure 7).

Hyperloop Passenger Capsule

The maximum width is 4.43 ft (1.35 m) and maximum height is 6.11 ft (1.10
m). With rounded corners, this is equivalent to a 15 ft2 (1.4 m2) frontal area,
not including any propulsion or suspension components.

The aerodynamic power requirements at 700 mph (1,130 kph) is around only
134 hp (100 kW) with a drag force of only 72 lbf (320 N), or about the same
force as the weight of one oversized checked bag at the airport. The doors on
each side will open in a gullwing (or possibly sliding) manner to allow easy
access during loading and unloading. The luggage compartment will be at the
front or rear of the capsule.

The overall structure weight is expected to be near 6,800 lb (3,100 kg)
including the luggage compartments and door mechanism. The overall cost of
the structure including manufacturing is targeted to be no more than $245,000.

Hyperloop Passenger Plus Vehicle Capsule

The passenger plus vehicle version of the Hyperloop capsule has an increased
frontal area of 43 ft2 (4.0 m2), not including any propulsion or suspension
components. This accounts for enough width to fit a vehicle as large as the
Tesla Model X.

The aerodynamic power requirement at 700 mph (1,130 kph) is around only 382
hp (285 kW) with a drag force of 205 lbf (910 N). The doors on each side will
open in a gullwing (or possibly sliding) manner to allow accommodate loading
of vehicles, passengers, or freight.

The overall structure weight is expected to be near 7,700 lb (3,500 kg)
including the luggage compartments and door mechanism. The overall cost of
the structure including manufacturing is targeted to be no more than $275,000.

The interior of the capsule is specifically designed with passenger safety and
comfort in mind. The seats conform well to the body to maintain comfort
during the high speed accelerations experienced during travel. Beautiful
landscape will be displayed in the cabin and each passenger will have access
their own personal entertainment system.

Hyperloop Passenger Capsule

The Hyperloop passenger capsule (Figure 8 and Figure 9) overall interior weight
is expected to be near 5,500 lb (2,500 kg) including the seats, restraint
systems, interior and door panels, luggage compartments, and entertainment
displays. The overall cost of the interior components is targeted to be no more
than $255,000.

Hyperloop Passenger Plus Vehicle Capsule

The Hyperloop passenger plus vehicle capsule overall interior weight is
expected to be near 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) including the seats, restraint systems,
interior and door panels, luggage compartments, and entertainment displays.
The overall cost of the interior components is targeted to be no more than
$185,000.

One important feature of the capsule is the onboard compressor, which serves
two purposes. This system allows the capsule to traverse the relatively narrow
tube without choking flow that travels between the capsule and the tube walls
(resulting in a build-up of air mass in front of the capsule and increasing the
drag) by compressing air that is bypassed through the capsule. It also supplies
air to air bearings that support the weight of the capsule throughout the
journey.

The air processing occurs as follows (Figure 10 and Figure 11) (note mass
counting is tracked in Section 4.1.4):

Hyperloop Passenger Capsule

1. Tube air is compressed with a compression ratio of 20:1 via an axial
compressor.
2. Up to 60% of this air is bypassed:
a. The air travels via a narrow tube near bottom of the capsule to
the tail.
b. A nozzle at the tail expands the flow generating thrust to mitigate
some of the small amounts of aerodynamic and bearing drag.
3. Up to 0.44 lb/s (0.2 kg/s) of air is cooled and compressed an additional
5.2:1 for the passenger version with additional cooling afterward.
a. This air is stored in onboard composite overwrap pressure vessels.
b. The stored air is eventually consumed by the air bearings to
maintain distance between the capsule and tube walls.
4. An onboard water tank is used for cooling of the air.
a. Water is pumped at 0.30 lb/s (0.14 kg/s) through two intercoolers
(639 lb or 290 kg total mass of coolant).
b. The steam is stored onboard until reaching the station.
c. Water and steam tanks are changed automatically at each stop.
5. The compressor is powered by a 436 hp (325 kW) onboard electric
motor:
a. The motor has an estimated mass of 372 lb (169 kg), which
includes power electronics.
b. An estimated 3,400 lb (1,500 kg) of batteries provides 45 minutes
of onboard compressor power, which is more than sufficient for
the travel time with added reserve backup power.

c. Onboard batteries are changed at each stop and charged at the
stations.

Axial compressor Air Out Nozzle expander
P 276 kW p 2.1 kPa in T 857 K 0.29 kg/s
Air In
p 99 Pa
T 292 K 0.2 kg/s Air Out
Air Cooled
0.49 kg/s Fthrust 170 N
T 300 K Pthrust 58 kW
Pin 52 kW
Intercooler Intercooler
Air
Water Reservoir p 11 kPa
p 101 kPa T 400 K
T 293 K
290 kg Air Out
p 11 kPa
T 557 K

Steam Steam Out Water In 0.14 kg/s

Hyperloop Passenger Plus Vehicle Capsule

1. Tube air is compressed with a compression ratio of 20:1 via an axial
compressor.
2. Up to 85% of this air is bypassed:
a. The air travels via a narrow tube near bottom of the capsule to
the tail.
b. A nozzle at the tail expands the flow generating thrust to mitigate
some of the small amounts of aerodynamic and bearing drag.
3. Up to 0.44 lb/s (0.2 kg/s) of air is cooled and compressed an additional
6.2:1 for the passenger plus vehicle version with additional cooling
afterward.
a. This air is stored in onboard composite overwrap pressure vessels.
b. The stored air is eventually consumed by the air bearings to
maintain distance between the capsule and tube walls.

4. An onboard water tank is used for cooling of the air.
a. Water is pumped at 0.86 lb/s (0.39 kg/s) through two intercoolers
(1,800 lb or 818 kg total mass of coolant).
b. The steam is stored onboard until reaching the station.
c. Water and steam tanks are changed automatically at each stop.
5. The compressor is powered by a 1,160 hp (865 kW) onboard electric
motor:
a. The motor has an estimated mass of 606 lb (275 kg), which
includes power electronics.
b. An estimated 8,900 lb (4,000 kg) of batteries provides 45 minutes
of onboard compressor power, which is more than sufficient for
the travel time with added reserve backup power.
c. Onboard batteries are changed at each stop and charged at the
stations.

Axial compressor Air Out Nozzle expander
P 808 kW p 2.1 kPa
in T 857 K

1.23 kg/s
Air In
p 99 Pa
T 292 K 0.2 kg/s Air Out
Air Cooled
1.43 kg/s Fthrust 72 N
T 300 K Pthrust 247 kW
Pin 60 kW
Intercooler Intercooler
Air
Water Reservoir p 13.4 kPa
p 101 kPa T 400 K
T 293 K
! 818 kg Air Out
p 13.4 kPa
T 59 K
Steam
Steam Out
Water In
0.39 kg/s

Suspending the capsule within the tube presents a substantial technical
challenge due to transonic cruising velocities. Conventional wheel and axle
systems become impractical at high speed due frictional losses and dynamic
instability. A viable technical solution is magnetic levitation; however the cost
associated with material and construction is prohibitive. An alternative to
these conventional options is an air bearing suspension. Air bearings offer
stability and extremely low drag at a feasible cost by exploiting the ambient
atmosphere in the tube.

Externally pressurized and aerodynamic air bearings are well suited for the
Hyperloop due to exceptionally high stiffness, which is required to maintain
stability at high speeds. When the gap height between a ski and the tube wall
is reduced, the flow field in the gap exhibits a highly non-linear reaction
resulting in large restoring pressures. The increased pressure pushes the ski
away from the wall, allowing it to return to its nominal ride height. While a
stiff air bearing suspension is superb for reliability and safety, it could create
considerable discomfort for passengers onboard. To account for this, each ski is
integrated into an independent mechanical suspension, ensuring a smooth ride
for passengers. The capsule may also include traditional deployable wheels
similar to aircraft landing gear for ease of movement at speeds under 100 mph
(160 kph) and as a component of the overall safety system.

Hyperloop Passenger Capsule

Hyperloop capsules will float above the tube’s surface on an array of 28 air
bearing skis that are geometrically conformed to the tube walls. The skis, each
4.9 ft (1.5 meters) in length and 3.0 ft (0.9 meters) in width, support the
weight of the capsule by floating on a pressurized cushion of air 0.020 to 0.050
in. (0.5 to 1.3 mm) off the ground. Peak pressures beneath the skis need only
reach 1.4 psi (9.4 kPa) to support the passenger capsule (9% of sea level
atmospheric pressure). The skis depend on two mechanisms to pressurize the
thin air film: external pressurization and aerodynamics.

The aerodynamic method of generating pressure under the air bearings
becomes appreciable at moderate to high capsule speeds. As the capsule
accelerates up to cruising speed, the front tip of each ski is elevated relative

to the back tip such that the ski rests at a slight angle of 0.05. Viscous forces
trap a thin film of air in the converging gap between the ski and the tube wall.
The air beneath the ski becomes pressurized which alters the flow field to
satisfy fundamental laws of mass, momentum, and energy conservation. The
resultant elevated pressure beneath the ski relative to the ambient atmosphere
provides a net lifting force that is sufficient to support a portion of the
capsule’s weight.

However, the pressure field generated by aerodynamics is not sufficient to
support the entire weight of the vehicle. At lower speeds, very little lift can be
generated by aerodynamic mechanisms. Temperature and density in the fluid
film begin to rise more rapidly than pressure at high speeds, thus lift ceases to
increase as the capsule accelerates into the transonic regime.

Lift is supplemented by injecting highly pressurized air into the gap. By
applying an externally supplied pressure, a favorable pressure distribution is
established beneath the bearing and sufficient lift is generated to support the
capsule. This system is known as an external pressure (EP) bearing and it is
effective when the capsule is stationary or moving at very high speeds. At
nominal weight and g-loading, a capsule on the Hyperloop will require air
injection beneath the ski at a rate of 0.44 lb/s (0.2 kg/s) at 1.4 psi (9.4 kPa)
for the passenger capsule. The air is introduced via a network of grooves in the
bearing’s bottom surface and is sourced directly from the high pressure air
reservoir onboard the capsule.

The aerodynamically and externally pressurized film beneath the skis will
generate a drag force on the capsule. The drag may be computed by
recognizing that fluid velocity in the flow field is driven by both the motion of
the tube wall relative to the ski and by a pressure gradient, which is typically
referred to as a Couette-Poiseuille flow. Such flows are well understood, and
the resultant drag can be computed analytically (as done in this alpha study)
and improved and/or validated by computational methods. The predicted total
drag generated by the 28 air bearings at a capsule speed of 760 mph (1,220
kph) is 31 lbf (140 N), resulting in a 64 hp (48 kW) power loss.

The passenger capsule air bearing system weight is expected to be about 6,200
lb (2,800 kg) including the compressors, air tank, plumbing, suspension, and
bearing surfaces. The overall cost of the air bearing components is targeted to
be no more than $475,000.

Hyperloop Passenger Plus Vehicle Capsule

The passenger plus vehicle version of the Hyperloop capsule places more
aggressive lifting requirements on the air bearings, but the expanded diameter
of the tube provides a greater surface area for lift generation. For this version,
an extra 12 in. (30 cm) of width would be added to each bearing. The nominal
air supply pressure would increase to 1.6 psi (11.2 kPa), but the flow rate

required would remain 0.44 lb/s (0.2 kg/s) thanks to the increased area under
the skis. Drag on the skis at 42 lbf (187 N), results in a power loss of 85 hp (63
kW).

The passenger plus vehicle capsule air bearing system weight is expected to be
about 8,400 lb (3,800 kg) including the compressors, air tank, plumbing,
suspension, and bearing surfaces. The overall cost of the air bearing
components is targeted to be no more than $565,000.

!”#”6″$7.8’9*:$;'<&*$

The passenger capsule power system includes an estimated 5,500 lb (2,500 kg)
of batteries to power the onboard compressor and capsule systems in addition
to the compressor motor and coolant. The battery, motor, and electronic
components cost is estimated to be near $150,000 per capsule in addition to
the cost of the suspension system.

The passenger plus vehicle capsule power system includes an estimated 12,100
lb (5,500 kg) of batteries to power the onboard compressor and capsule
systems in addition to the compressor motor and coolant. The battery, motor
and electronic components cost is estimated to be near $200,000 per capsule in
addition to the cost of the suspension system.

In order to propel the vehicle at the required travel speed, an advanced linear
motor system is being developed to accelerate the capsule above 760 mph
(1,220 kph) at a maximum of 1g for comfort. The moving motor element (rotor)
will be located on the vehicle for weight savings and power requirements while
the tube will incorporate the stationary motor element (stator) which powers
the vehicle. More details can be found in the section 4.3.

Hyperloop Passenger Capsule

The overall propulsion system weight attached to the capsule is expected to be
near 2,900 lb (1,300 kg) including the support and emergency braking system.
The overall cost of the system is targeted to be no more than $125,000. This
brings the total capsule weight near 33,000 lb (15,000 kg) including passenger
and luggage weight.

Hyperloop Passenger Plus Vehicle Capsule

The overall propulsion system weight attached to the capsule is expected to be
near 3,500 lb (1,600 kg) including the support and emergency braking system.
The overall cost of the system is targeted to be no more than $150,000. This
brings the total capsule weight near 57,000 lb (26,000) kg including passenger,
luggage, and vehicle weight.

The overall cost of the Hyperloop passenger capsule version (Table 1) is
expected to be under $1.35 million USD including manufacturing and assembly
cost. With 40 capsules required for the expected demand, the total cost of
capsules for the Hyperloop system should be no more than $54 million USD or
approximately 1% of the total budget.

Although the overall cost of the project would be higher, we have also detailed
the expected cost of a larger capsule (Table 2) which could carry not only
passengers but cargo and cars/SUVs as well. The frontal area of the capsule
would have to be increased to 43 ft2 (4 m2) and the tube diameter would be
increased to 10 ft 10 in. (3.3 m).

4.2. Tube

The main Hyperloop route consists of a partially evacuated cylindrical tube
that connects the Los Angeles and San Francisco stations in a closed loop
system (Figure 2). The tube is specifically sized for optimal air flow around the
capsule improving performance and energy consumption at the expected travel
speed. The expected pressure inside the tube will be maintained around 0.015
psi (100 Pa, 0.75 torr), which is about 1/6 the pressure on Mars. This low
pressure minimizes the drag force on the capsule while maintaining the relative
ease of pumping out the air from the tube. The efficiency of industrial vacuum
pumps decreases exponentially as the pressure is reduced (Figure 13), so
further benefits from reducing tube pressure would be offset by increased
pumping complexity.

In order to minimize cost of the Hyperloop tube, it will be elevated on pillars
which greatly reduce the footprint required on the ground and the size of the
construction area required. Thanks to the small pillar footprint and by
maintaining the route as close as possible to currently operated highways, the
amount of land required for the Hyperloop is minimized. More details are
available for the route in section 4.4.

The Hyperloop travel journey will feel very smooth since the capsule will be
guided directly on the inner surface of the tube via the use of air bearings and
suspension; this also prevents the need for costly tracks. The capsule will bank
off the walls and include a control system for smooth returns to nominal
capsule location from banking as well. Some specific sections of the tube will
incorporate the stationary motor element (stator) which will locally guide and
accelerate (or decelerate) the capsule. More details are available for the
propulsion system in section 4.3. Between linear motor stations, the capsule
will glide with little drag via air bearings.

The geometry of the tube depends on the choice of either the passenger
version of Hyperloop or the passenger plus vehicles version of Hyperloop.

In either case, if the speed of the air passing through the gaps accelerates to
supersonic velocities, then shock waves form. These waves limit how much air
can actually get out of the way of the capsule, building up a column of air in
front of its nose and increasing drag until the air pressure builds up
significantly in front of the capsule. With the increased drag and additional
mass of air to push, the power requirements for the capsule increase
significantly. It is therefore very important to avoid shock wave formation
around the capsule by careful selecting of the capsule/tube area ratio. This
ensures sufficient mass air flow around and through the capsule at all operating
speeds. Any air that cannot pass around the annulus between the capsule and
tube is bypassed using the onboard compressor in each capsule.

Passenger Hyperloop Tube

The inner diameter of the tube is optimized to be 7 ft 4 in. (2.23 m) which is
small enough to keep material cost low while large enough to provide some
alleviation of choked air flow around the capsule. The tube cross-sectional area
is 42.2 ft2 (3.91 m2) giving a capsule/tube area ratio of 36% or a diameter ratio
of 60%. It is critical to the aerodynamics of the capsule to keep this ratio as
large as possible, even though the pressure in the tube is extremely low. As
the capsule moves through the tube, it must displace its own volume of air, in

a loosely similar way to a boat in water. The displacement of the air is
constricted by the walls of the tube, which makes it accelerate to squeeze
through the gaps. Any flow not displaced must be ingested by the onboard
compressor of each capsule, which increases power requirements.

The closed loop tube will be mounted side by side on elevated pillars as seen in
Figure 5. The surface above the tubes will be lined with solar panels to provide
the required system energy. This represents a possible area of 14 ft (4.25 m)
wide for more than 350 miles (563 km) of tube length. With an expected solar
panel energy production of 0.015 hp/ft2 (120 W/m2), we can expect the system
to produce a maximum of 382,000 hp (285 MW) at peak solar activity. This
would actually be more energy than needed for the Hyperloop system and the
detailed power requirements will be detailed in section 4.3.

Passenger Plus Vehicle Hyperloop Tube

The inner diameter of the tube is optimized to be 10 ft 10 in. (3.30 m), larger
than the passenger version to accommodate the larger capsule. The tube cross-
sectional area is 92.1 ft2 (8.55 m2) giving a capsule/tube area ratio of 47% or a
diameter ratio of 68%.

The closed passenger plus vehicle Hyperloop tube will be mounted side by side
in the same manner as the passenger version as seen in Figure 5. The surface
above the tubes will be lined with solar panels to provide the required system
energy. This represents a possible area of 22 ft (6.6 m) wide for more than 350
miles (563 km) of tube length. With an expected solar panel energy production
of 0.015 hp/ft2 (120W/m2), we can expect the system to produce a maximum
of 598,000 hp (446 MW) at peak solar activity. This would actually be more
energy than needed for the passenger plus vehicle Hyperloop system and the
detailed power requirements will be detailed in section 4.3.

Station Connections

The stations are isolated from the main tube as much as possible in order to
limit air leaks into the system. In addition, isolated branches and stations off
the main tubes could be built to access some towns along the way between Los
Angeles and San Francisco. Vacuum pumps will run continuously at various
locations along the length of the tube to maintain the required pressure
despite any possible leaks through the joint and stations. The expected cost of
all required vacuum pumps is expected to be no more than $10 million USD.

In order to keep cost to a minimum, a uniform thickness steel tube reinforced
with stringers was selected as the material of choice for the inner diameter
tube Tube sections would be pre-fabricated and installed between pillar
supports spaced 100 ft (30 m) on average, varying slightly depending on

location. This relatively short span allows keeping tube material cost and
deflection to a minimum.

The steel construction allows simple welding processes to join different tube
sections together. A specifically designed cleaning and boring machine will
make it possible to surface finish the inside of the tube and welded joints for a
better gliding surface. In addition, safety emergency exits and pressurization
ports will be added in key locations along the length of the tube.

Passenger Hyperloop Tube

A tube wall thickness between 0.8 and 0.9 in. (20 to 23 mm) is necessary to
provide sufficient strength for the load cases considered such as pressure
differential, bending and buckling between pillars, loading due to the capsule
weight and acceleration, as well as seismic considerations.

The expected cost for the tube is expected to be less than $650 million USD,
including pre-fabricated tube sections with stringer reinforcements and
emergency exits. The support pillars and joints which will be detailed in
section 4.2.3.

Passenger Plus Vehicle Hyperloop Tube

The tube wall thickness for the larger tube would be between 0.9 and 1.0 in
(23 to 25 mm). Tube cost calculations were also made for the larger diameter
tube which would allow usage of the cargo and vehicle capsule in addition to
the passenger capsule. In that case, the expected cost for the tube is expected
to be less than $1.2 billion USD. Since the spacing between pillars would not
change and the pillars are more expensive than the tube, the overall cost
increase is kept to a minimum.

The tube will be supported by pillars which constrain the tube in the vertical
direction but allow longitudinal slip for thermal expansion as well as dampened
lateral slip to reduce the risk posed by earthquakes. In addition, the pillar to
tube connection nominal position will be adjustable vertically and laterally to
ensure proper alignment despite possible ground settling. These minimally
constrained pillars to tube joints will also allow a smoother ride. Specially
designed slip joints at each stations will be able take any tube length variance
due to thermal expansion. This is an ideal location for the thermal expansion
joints as the speed is much lower nearby the stations. It thus allows the tube to
be smooth and welded along the high speed gliding middle section.

The spacing of the Hyperloop pillars retaining the tube is critical to achieve the
design objective of the tube structure. The average spacing is 100 ft (30 m),
which means there will be near 25,000 pillars supporting both tubes and solar

panels. The pillars will be 20 ft (6 m) tall whenever possible but may vary in
height in hilly areas or where obstacles are in the way. Also, in some key areas,
the spacing will have to vary in order to pass over roads or other obstacles.
Small spacing between each support reduces the deflection of the tube keeping
the capsule steadier and the journey more enjoyable. In addition, reduced
spacing has increased resistance to seismic loading as well as the lateral
acceleration of the capsule.

Due to the sheer quantity of pillars required, reinforced concrete was selected
as the construction material due to its very low cost per volume. In some short
areas, tunneling may be required to avoid going over mountains and to keep
the route as straight as possible. The expected cost for the pillar construction
and tube joints is expected to be no more than $2.55 billion USD for the
passenger version tube and $3.15 billion USD for the passenger plus vehicle
version tube. The expected cost for the tunneling is expected to be no more
than $600 million USD for the smaller diameter tube and near $700 million USD
for the larger diameter tube.

Structural simulations (Figure 15 through Figure 20) have demonstrated the
capability of the Hyperloop to withstand atmospheric pressure, tube weight,
earthquakes, winds, etc. Dampers will be incorporate between the pylons and
tubes to isolate movements in the ground from the tube.

The intention for Hyperloop stations is for them to be minimalist but practical
and with a boarding process and layout much simpler than airports.

Due to the short travel time and frequent departures, it is envisaged that there
will be a continual flow of passengers through each Hyperloop station, in
contrast to the pulsed situation at airports which leads to lines and delays.
Safety and security are paramount, and so security checks will still be made in
a similar fashion as TSA does for the airport. The process could be greatly
streamlined to reduce wait time and maintain a more continuous passenger
flow.

All ticketing and baggage tracking for the Hyperloop will be handled
electronically, negating the need for printing boarding passes and luggage
labels. Since Hyperloop travel time is very short, the main usage is more for
commuting than for vacations. There would be a luggage limit of 2 bags per
person, for no more than 110 lb (50 kg) in total. Luggage would be stowed in a
separate compartment at the rear of the capsule, in a way comparable to the
overhead bins on passenger aircraft. This luggage compartment can be
removed from the capsule, so that the process of stowing and retrieving
luggage can be undertaken separately from embarking or disembarking the
capsule’s passenger cabin. In addition, Hyperloop staff will take care of loading
and unloading passenger luggage in order to maximize efficiency.

The transit area at a Hyperloop terminal would be a large open area with two
large airlocks signifying the entry and exit points for the capsules. An arriving
capsule would enter the incoming airlock, where the pressure is equalized with

the station, before being released into the transit area. The doors of the
capsule would open, and the passengers could disembark. The luggage pod
would be quickly unloaded by the Hyperloop staff or separated from the
capsule so that baggage retrieval would not interfere with the capsule
turnaround.

Once vacated, the capsule would be rotated on a turntable, and aligned for re-
entry into the Hyperloop tube. The departing passengers, and their pre-loaded
luggage pod, would then enter the capsule. A Hyperloop attendant will then
perform a safety check of each passenger’s seat belts before the capsule is
cleared for departure. At this point the capsule would then be moved forward
into the exit airlock, where the pressure is lowered to the operating level of
the Hyperloop, and then sent on its way. Note that loading and unloading
occurring in parallel with up to three capsules at a given station at any time.
The expected cost for each station is expected to be around $125 million for a
total of $250 million USD initially.

The overall cost of the tube, pillars, vacuum pumps and stations is thus
expected to be around $4.06 billion USD for the passenger version of
Hyperloop. This does not include the cost of the propulsion linear motors or
solar panels. The tube represents approximately 70% of the total budget.

The larger 10 ft 10 in. (3.3 m) tube that would allow the cargo and vehicle
capsules to fit, would have a total cost including the tube, pillars, vacuum
pumps, and stations around $5.31 billion USD. This minimal cost increase would
allow a much more versatile Hyperloop system.

4.3. Propulsion

The propulsion system has these basic requirements:

1. Accelerate the capsule from 0 to 300 mph (480 kph) for relatively low
speed travel in urban areas.
2. Maintain the capsule at 300 mph (480 kph) as necessary, including during
ascents over the mountains surrounding Los Angeles and San Francisco.
3. To accelerate the capsule from 300 to 760 mph (480 to 1,220 kph) at 1g
at the beginning of the long coasting section along the I-5 corridor.
4. To decelerate the capsule back to 300 mph (480 kph) at the end of the I-
5 corridor.

The Hyperloop as a whole is projected to consume an average of 28,000 hp (21
MW). This includes the power needed to make up for propulsion motor
efficiency (including elevation changes), aerodynamic drag, charging the
batteries to power on-board compressors, and vacuum pumps to keep the tube
evacuated. A solar array covering the entire Hyperloop is large enough to
provide an annual average of 76,000 hp (57 MW), significantly more than the
Hyperloop requires.

Since the peak powers of accelerating and decelerating capsules are up to 3
times the average power, the power architecture includes a battery array at
each accelerator, allowing the solar array to provide only the average power
needed to run the system. Power from the grid is needed only when solar
power is not available.

This section details a large linear accelerator, capable of the 300 to 760 mph
(480 to 1,220 kph) acceleration at 1g. Smaller accelerators appropriate for
urban areas and ascending mountain ranges can be scaled down from this
system.

The Hyperloop uses a linear induction motor to accelerate and decelerate the
capsule. This provides several important benefits over a permanent magnet
motor:

· Lower material cost ­ the rotor can be a simple aluminum shape, and
does not require rare-earth elements.
· Lighter capsule.
· Smaller capsule dimensions.
· The lateral forces exerted by the stator on the rotor though low at 0.9
lbf/ft (13 N/m) are inherently stabilizing. This simplifies the problem of
keeping the rotor aligned in the air gap.

Rotor (mounted to capsule)

Stator (mounted to tube)

Each accelerator has two 65 MVA inverters, one to accelerate the outgoing
capsule, and one to capture the energy from the incoming capsule. Inverters in
the 10+ MVA power range are not unusual in mining, drives for large cargo
ships, and railway traction. Moreover, 100+ MVA drives are commercially
available. Inexpensive semiconductor switches allow the central inverters to
energize only the section of track occupied by a capsule, improving the power
factor seen by the inverters.

The inverters are physically located at the highest speed end of the track to
minimize conductor cost.

The rotor of the linear accelerators is very simple ­ an aluminum blade 49 ft
(15 m) long, 1.5 ft (0.45 m) tall, and 2 in. (50 mm) thick. Current flows mainly
in the outer 0.4 in. (10 mm) of this blade, allowing it to be hollow to decrease
weight and cost.

The gap between the rotor and the stator is 0.8 in. (20 mm) on each side. A
combination of the capsule control system and electromagnetic centering
forces allows the capsule to safely enter, stay within, and exit such a precise
gap.

Copper coils

Air gap

Rotor aluminum (mounted to capsule)
Stator iron (mounted to tube)

The stator is mounted to the bottom of the tube over the entire 2.5 miles (4.0
km) it takes to accelerate and decelerate between 300 and 760 mph (480 and
1,220 km). It is approximately 1.6 ft (0.5 m) wide (including the air gap) and
4.0 in. (10 cm) tall, and weighs 530 lb/ft (800 kg/m).

Laid out symmetrically on each side of the rotor, its electrical configuration is
3-phase, 1 slot per pole per phase, with a variable linear pitch (1.3 ft or 0.4 m
maximum). The number of turns per slot also varies along the length of the
stator, allowing the inverter to operate at nearly constant phase voltage, which
simplifies the power electronics design. The two halves of the stator require
bracing to resist the magnetic forces of 20 lbf/ft (300N/m) that try to bring
them together.

Rotor

Stator windings

Stator iron

Energy storage allows this linear accelerator to only draw its average power of
8,000 hp (6 MW) (rather than the peak power of 70,000 hp or 52 MW) from its
solar array.

Building the energy storage element out of the same lithium ion cells available
in the Tesla Model S is economical. A battery array with enough power
capability to provide the worst-case smoothing power has a lot of energy ­
launching 1 capsule only uses 0.5% of the total energy ­ so degradation due to
cycling is not an issue. With proper construction and controls, the battery could
be directly connected to the HVDC bus, eliminating the need for an additional
DC/DC converter to connect it to the propulsion system.

As described above, the propulsion elements on the capsule are limited to the
rotor and not expected to cost any more than $3 million USD for the overall
system. The bulk of the propulsion cost is for the stator elements connected to
the track and for the inverters to drive the stator. All tube-side propulsion
costs together for linear accelerators add up to $140 million USD.

This cost is roughly divided as followed:

– Stator and structure materials = 54%

– Power electronics (traction inverters, grid tie inverters) = 33%
– Energy storage = 13%

The solar array and associated electronics provide an average power of 28,000
hp (21 MW) and are expected to cost approximately $210 million USD.

Compared to the passenger-only capsule, the passenger plus vehicle capsule
weighs more, requires a more powerful compressor, and has 50% higher total
drag. This increases both the peak and continuous power requirements on the
propulsion system, so that the Hyperloop now consumes an average of 66,000
hp (49 MW). However, there is still more than enough solar power available on
the wider tubes (122,000 hp or 91 MW, on average) to provide this.

The expected total cost for this larger propulsion system is $691 million USD,
divided as follows:

– 66,000 hp (49 MW) (yearly average) solar array: $490 million USD

– Propulsion system total: $200 million USD
o Stator and structure materials = 47%
o Power electronics = 37%
o Energy storage = 16%

4.4. Route

The Hyperloop will be capable of traveling between Los Angeles and San
Francisco in approximately 35 minutes. This requirement tends to size other
portions of the system. Given the performance specification of the Hyperloop,
a route has been devised to satisfy this design requirement. The Hyperloop
route should be based on several considerations, including:

1. Maintaining the tube as closely as possible to existing rights of way (e.g.,
following the I-5).
2. Limiting the maximum capsule speed to 760 mph (1,220 kph) for
aerodynamic considerations.
3. Limiting accelerations on the passengers to 0.5g.
4. Optimizing locations of the linear motor tube sections driving the
capsules.
5. Local geographical constraints, including location of urban areas,
mountain ranges, reservoirs, national parks, roads, railroads, airports,
etc. The route must respect existing structures.

For aerodynamic efficiency, the velocity of a capsule in the Hyperloop is
typically:

· 300 mph (480 kph) where local geography necessitates a tube bend radii
3.0
miles (4.8 km) or where local geography permits a straight tube.

These bend radii have been calculated so that the passenger does not
experience inertial accelerations that exceed 0.5g. This is deemed the
maximum inertial acceleration that can be comfortably sustained by humans
for short periods. To further reduce the inertial acceleration experienced by
passengers, the capsule and/or tube will incorporate a mechanism that will
allow a degree of `banking’.

The Hyperloop route was created by the authors using Google Earth.

In order to avoid bend radii that would lead to uncomfortable passenger
inertial accelerations and hence limit velocity, it is necessary to optimize the
route. This can be achieved by deviating from the current highway system,
earth removal, constructing pylons to achieve elevation change or tunneling.

The proposed route considers a combination of 20, 50, and 100 ft (6, 15, and 30
m, respectively) pylon heights to raise and lower the Hyperloop tube over
geographical obstacles. A total tunnel length of 15.2 miles (24.5 km) has been

included in this optimization where extreme local gradients (>6%) would
preclude the use of pylons. Tunneling cost estimations are estimated at $50
million per mile ($31 million per km). The small diameter of the Hyperloop
tube should keep tunneling costs to a far more reasonable level than traditional
automotive and rail tunnels.

The route has been divided into the following sections:

· Los Angeles/Grapevine ­ South and North
· I-5
· I-580/San Francisco Bay

Summary

· 300 mph (480 kph) for the Los Angeles Grapevine South section at 0.5g.

Total time of 167 seconds

· 555 mph (890 kph) for the Los Angeles Grapevine North section at 0.5g.

Total travel time of 435 seconds

· 760 mph (1,220 kph ) along I-5 at 0.5g.

Total travel time of 1,518 seconds

· 555 mph (890 kph) along I-580 slowing to 300 mph (480 kph) into San
Francisco.

Total travel time of 2,134 seconds (35 minutes)

The velocity (Figure 26) along the Hyperloop and distance (Figure 27) as a
function of time summarize the route.

Visualization – The preliminary route is shown in yellow. Bend radii are
shown in red. The green dashed line delineates the
north/south Grapevine definition in this document.

Route – Follows I-5 through Santa Clarita and Castaic.

Criteria 0.5g
Acceleration
Min. bend radius at 2.28 miles
300 mph (483 kph) (3.67 km)

Section Distance 13.4 miles

(21.6 km)
Journey time 167.6 seconds

Tunnel distance 1.0 miles
(1.61 km)

No. of 20 ft (6 m) 563
pylons
No. of 50 ft (15 m) 80
pylons
No. of 100 ft (30 m) 12
Pylons
Additional length 1.20 miles
Required (1.93 km)

Visualization – The preliminary route is shown in yellow. Bend radii are
shown in red. The green dashed line delineates the
north/south Grapevine definition in this document.

Route – Significant deviation from I-5 in order to increase bend
radius and develop straight sections.

Criteria 0.5g
Acceleration

Min. bend radius at 7.80 miles
555 mph (890 kph) (12.6 km)

Distance 40.0 miles

(64.4 km)
Journey time 267.4 seconds

Tunnel distance 10.7 miles
(17.2 km)

No. of 20 ft (6 m) 492
Pylons
No. of 50 ft (15 m) 260
Pylons
No. of 100 ft (30 m) 795
Pylons
Additional length 24 miles
required (38.6 km)

Visualization – The preliminary route is shown in yellow. Bend radii are
shown in red.

Route – Follows I-5 to minimize land/right of way purchase costs.

Criteria 0.5g
Acceleration

Min. bend radius at 760 14.6 miles
mph (1,220 kph) (23.5 km)

Distance 227 miles
(365 km)

Journey time 1,173.0 seconds

Tunnel distance 0 miles

(0 km)
No. of 20 ft (6 m) 10,930
pylons

No. of 50 ft (15 m) 1,056
pylons

No. of 100 ft (30 m) 0
pylons

Additional length 14 miles
required (22.5 km)

Visualization – The preliminary route is shown in yellow. Bend radii are
shown in red.

Route – Follows I-580 to minimize land/right of way purchase costs.
Deviation from I-580 West of Dublin in order to develop
straight sections.

Criteria 0.5g
Acceleration

Min. bend radius at 2.28 miles
300 mph (480 kph) (3.67 km)
Min. bend radius at 7.80 miles
555 mph (890 kph) (12.55 km)
Min. bend radius at 14.6 miles
760 mph (1,220 kph) (23.5 km)

Distance 73.9 miles

(119 km)
Journey time 626.0 seconds

Tunnel distance 3.5 miles
(5.6 km)
No. of 20 ft (6 m) 2,783
pylons
No. of 50 ft (15 m) 775
pylons
No. of 100 ft (30 m) 159
pylons
Additional length 5.7 miles
required (9.2 km)

The major stations for Hyperloop are suggested based on high traffic regions
between major cities. The largest cities by metro population in California
according to 2010 to 2012 estimates from various sources (Table 7) are
considered for station locations.

City Population
(millions)
Los Angeles 18.1
San
Francisco/San 8.4
Jose
San Diego 3.1
Sacramento 2.6
Fresno 1.1

Stations at these major population centers are considered for Hyperloop. One
additional traffic corridor to consider is between Los Angeles, California and
Las Vegas, Nevada with a metro population of 2.1 million. Significant traffic is
present through this corridor on a weekly basis.

Suggested main route
Suggested main stations
Proposed branches
Proposed branch stations

The traffic between Los Angeles, California and San Francisco/San Jose,
California is estimated to be at least 6 million travelers per year. This possibly
represents the busiest corridor of travel in California. Travel along this corridor
is anticipated to increase with completion of the Hyperloop due to both
decreased travel time and decreased travel cost.

Additional Hyperloop stations are suggested considered at the following major
population centers:

1. San Diego, California:
a. Connects to Los Angeles, California main station.
b. Capsule departures every 5 minutes.
c. Transports around 3 million people per year.
2. Las Vegas, Nevada:

a. Connects to Los Angeles, California main station.
b. Uses a portion of the San Diego branch route near Los Angeles and
tube branches near San Bernardino, California.
c. Capsule departures every 8 minutes.
d. Transports around 1.8 million people per year.
3. Sacramento, California:
a. Connects to San Francisco, California main station.
b. Uses a portion of the main route near San Francisco and tube
branches near Stockton, California.
c. Capsule departures every 15 minutes.
d. Transports around 1 million people per year.
4. Fresno, California:
a. Connects to both San Francisco, California and Los Angeles,
California main stations.
b. Los Angeles bound travelers:
i. Uses the main route closer to San Francisco plus a small
branch along State Route 41 near Fresno.
ii. Capsule departures every 15 minutes.
iii. Transports around 1 million people per year.
c. San Francisco bound travelers:
i. Uses the main route closer to Los Angeles plus a small
branch along State Route 41 near Fresno.
ii. Capsule departures every 30 minutes.
iii. Transports around 0.5 million people per year.

4.5. Safety and Reliability

The design of Hyperloop has been considered from the start with safety in
mind. Unlike other modes of transport, Hyperloop is a single system that
incorporates the vehicle, propulsion system, energy management, timing, and
route. Capsules travel in a carefully controlled and maintained tube
environment. The system is immune to wind, ice, fog, and rain. The
propulsion system is integrated into the tube and can only accelerate the
capsule to speeds that are safe in each section. With human control error and
unpredictable weather removed from the system, very few safety concerns
remain.

Some of the safety scenarios below are unique to the proposed system, but all
should be considered relative to other forms of transportation. In many cases
Hyperloop is intrinsically safer than airplanes, trains, or automobiles.

All capsules would have direct radio contact with station operators in case of
emergencies, allowing passengers to report any incident, to request help and
to receive assistance. In addition, all capsules would be fitted with first aid
equipment.

The Hyperloop allows people to travel from San Francisco to LA in 30 minutes.
Therefore in case of emergency, it is likely that the best course of action would
be for the capsule to communicate the situation to the station operator and for
the capsule to finish the journey in a few minutes where emergency services
would be waiting to assist.

Typical times between an emergency and access to a physician should be
shorter than if an incident happened during airplane takeoff. In the case of the
airplane, the route would need to be adjusted, other planes rerouted, runways
cleared, airplane landed, taxi to a gate, and doors opened. An emergency in a
Hyperloop capsule simply requires the system to complete the planned journey
and meet emergency personnel at the destination.

The vast majority of the Hyperloop travel distance is spent coasting and so the
capsule does not require continuous power to travel. The capsule life support
systems will be powered by two or more redundant lithium ion battery pack
and so would be unaffected by a power outage. In the event of a power outage
occurring after a capsule had been launched, all linear accelerators would be
equipped with enough energy storage to bring all capsules currently in the
Hyperloop tube safely to a stop at their destination. In addition, linear
accelerators using the same storage would complete the acceleration of all
capsules currently in the tube. For additional redundancy, all Hyperloop
capsules would be fitted with a mechanical braking system to bring capsules
safely to a stop.

In summary, all journeys would be completed as expected from the passenger’s
perspective. Normal travel schedules would be resumed after power was
restored.

Hyperloop capsules will be designed to the highest safety standards and
manufactured with extensive quality checks to ensure their integrity. In the
event of a minor leak, the onboard environmental control system would
maintain capsule pressure using the reserve air carried onboard for the short
period of time it will take to reach the destination. In the case of a more
significant depressurization, oxygen masks would be deployed as in airplanes.
Once the capsule reached the destination safely it would be removed from
service. Safety of the onboard air supply in Hyperloop would be very similar to
aircraft, and can take advantage of decades of development in similar systems.

In the unlikely event of a large scale capsule depressurization, other capsules
in the tube would automatically begin emergency braking whilst the Hyperloop
tube would undergo rapid re-pressurization along its entire length.

A capsule becoming stranded in the Hyperloop tube is highly unlikely as the
capsule coasts the majority of the distance at high speed and so there is no
propulsion required for more than 90% of the journey.

If a capsule were somehow to become stranded, capsules ahead would
continue their journeys to the destination unaffected. Capsules behind the
stranded one would be automatically instructed to deploy their emergency
mechanical braking systems. Once all capsules behind the stranded capsule had
been safely brought to rest, capsules would drive themselves to safety using
small onboard electric motors to power deployed wheels.

All capsules would be equipped with a reserve air supply great enough to
ensure the safety of all passengers for a worst case scenario event.

A minor depressurization of the tube is unlikely to affect Hyperloop capsules or
passengers and would likely be overcome by increased vacuum pump power.
Any minor tube leaks could then be repaired during standard maintenance.

In the event of a large scale leak, pressure sensors located along the tube
would automatically communicate with all capsules to deploy their emergency
mechanical braking systems.

California is no stranger to earthquakes and transport systems and all built with
earthquakes in mind. Hyperloop would be no different with the entire tube
length built with the necessary flexibility to withstand the earthquake motions
while maintaining the Hyperloop tube alignment.

It is also likely that in the event of a severe earthquake, Hyperloop capsules
would be commanded remotely to actuate their mechanical emergency braking
systems.

Hyperloop would feature the same high level of security used at airports.
However, the regular departure of Hyperloop capsules would result in a
steadier and faster flow of passengers through security screening compared to

airports. Tubes located on pylons would limit access to the critical elements of
the system. Multiple redundant power sources and vacuum pumps would limit
the impact of any single element.

The Hyperloop system comprising all infrastructure, mechanical, electrical, and
software components will be designed so that it is reliable, durable, and fault
tolerant over its service life (100 years), while maintaining safety levels that
match or exceed the safety standard of commercial air transportation.

4.6. Cost

The total cost of the Hyperloop passenger transportation system as outlined is
less than $6 billion USD (Table 8). The passenger plus vehicle version of
Hyperloop is including both passenger and cargo capsules and the total cost is
outlined as $7.5 billion USD (Table 9).

Component
(million USD)
Capsule 54 (40 capsules)
Capsule Structure & Doors 9.8
Interior & Seats 10.2
Compressor & Plumbing 11
Batteries & Electronics 6
Propulsion 5
Suspension & Air Bearings 8
Components Assembly 4
Tube 5,410
Tube Construction 650
Pylon Construction 2,550
Tunnel Construction 600
Propulsion 140
Solar Panels & Batteries 210
Station & Vacuum Pumps 260
Permits & Land 1,000
Cost Margin 536
Total 6,000

Cost
Component
(million USD)
Cargo Capsule 30.5 (20 capsules)
Capsule Structure & Doors 5.5
Interior & Seats 3.7
Compressor & Plumbing 6
Batteries, Motor & Electronics 4
Propulsion 3
Suspension & Air Bearings 5.3
Components Assembly 3
Passenger Only Capsule 40.5 (30 capsules)
Capsule Structure & Doors 7.4
Interior & Seats 7.6
Compressor & Plumbing 8.2
Batteries, Motor & Electronics 4.5
Propulsion 3.8
Suspension & Air Bearings 6
Components Assembly 3
Tube 7,000
Tube Construction 1,200
Pylon Construction 3,150
Tunnel Construction 700
Propulsion 200
Solar Panels & Batteries 490
Station & Vacuum Pumps 260
Permits & Land 1,000
Cost Margin 429
Total 7,500

6. Conclusions
A high speed transportation system known as Hyperloop has been developed in
this document. The work has detailed two version of the Hyperloop: a
passenger only version and a passenger plus vehicle version. Hyperloop could
transport people, vehicles, and freight between Los Angeles and San Francisco
in 35 minutes. Transporting 7.4 million people each way and amortizing the
cost of $6 billion over 20 years gives a ticket price of $20 for a one-way trip for
the passenger version of Hyperloop. The passenger plus vehicle version of the
Hyperloop is less than 9% of the cost of the proposed passenger only high speed
rail system between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

An additional passenger plus transport version of the Hyperloop has been
created that is only 25% higher in cost than the passenger only version. This
version would be capable of transport passengers, vehicles, freight, etc. The
passenger plus vehicle version of the Hyperloop is less than 11% of the cost of
the proposed passenger only high speed rail system between Los Angeles and
San Francisco. Additional technological developments and further optimization
could likely reduce this price.

The intent of this document has been to create a new open source form of
transportation that could revolutionize travel. The authors welcome feedback

and will incorporate it into future revisions of the Hyperloop project, following
other open source models such as Linux.

7. Future Work

Hyperloop is considered an open source transportation concept. The authors
encourage all members of the community to contribute to the Hyperloop design
process. Iteration of the design by various individuals and groups can help bring
Hyperloop from an idea to a reality.

The authors recognize the need for additional work, including but not limited
to:

1. More expansion on the control mechanism for Hyperloop capsules,
including attitude thruster or control moment gyros.
2. Detailed station designs with loading and unloading of both passenger
and passenger plus vehicle versions of the Hyperloop capsules.
3. Trades comparing the costs and benefits of Hyperloop with more
conventional magnetic levitation systems.
4. Sub-scale testing based on a further optimized design to demonstrate
the physics of Hyperloop.

Feedback is welcomed on these or any useful aspects of the Hyperloop design.
E-mail feedback to hyperloop@spacex.com or hyperloop@teslamotors.com.

17 COMMENTS

  1. I just want to die for my country. Or your country. Any country will do, as long as I die for a country, I’ll be happy.

    As a true patriot, I would gladly die in battle defending my homeland. I love my country more than my own life. But I would also be more than willing to give my last breath in the name of, say, Mexico, Panama, Japan, or the Czech Republic. The most honorable thing a man can do is lay down his life for his country. Or another country. The important thing is that it’s a country.

    Like those heroes who spilled their blood fighting for independence against the British Empire, I, too, would forfeit everything to win for my countrymen the right to be governed by politicians in our own capital instead of in a capital located further away. Nothing is more profound or more sacred than to die for one’s country, an adjacent country, or some other, foreign country.

    The truth is, there are a lot of countries, each of which is the most noble cause possible to die for. I only regret that I have but one life to lose for but one country.

    I would not hesitate to give my life for or against any other noble nation. Come to think of it, I would even die for a neutral third party caught in the crossfire during a heroic peacekeeping effort, just so long as my death would be in some way related to a country of some kind. That’s how committed I am to the concept of nationalism.

    The bottom line is that the current boundaries of a nation are worth protecting at all costs. Otherwise, what would so many brave and patriotic souls have lost their lives for?

    I was lucky enough to be born in one of the 200 greatest countries in the world, and I promised myself long ago that I would never forget it. I can only hope to someday have the privilege of protecting this great land against whomever may seek to do it harm. Or to defend some other country against whomever may seek to do it harm. And vice versa.

    Ideally, I’d like to die for a country that was at least in the Western hemisphere but it’d be just as heroic to expire bravely on the end of a pointed stick deep in the jungles of Africa. My wife would be widowed and my children orphaned, but they would take solace in the knowledge that I had given my life to a cause that the people of some nation believed in.

    I only ask that I be given a soldier’s funeral so that I may be buried holding the flag or flags of wherever it was I was fighting for.

    There comes a time when all of us, no matter who we are, heed the call to the battlefield. It is a call we cannot and should not ignore, no matter where it is coming from. And if I must die, in the service of this or that country, I only hope I can at least take as many of the enemy with me as possible before I fall and breathe my last. Unless of course, they’re also fighting for a country. In which case, their deaths, at my hands, will have been honorable—because they, like me, would have died for a country.

    Without nationalism, our deaths in the countless wars we constantly wage to defend our own nations against others defending their own nations against us would seem arbitrary, almost meaningless. But as long as we have a higher purpose—the love of whatever country we happen to be fighting for—we will always know we did not lose our lives in vain.

    – from The Onion

  2. Dear Tor,

    The “hyperloop,” like so many top down tech solutions to modern problems, might have been good had the free market been allowed to vet it according to market principles.

    But by the time the NWO has had its go at it, it’s already FUBAR.

    Mass rapid transit need not be inherently statist or collectivist. It is today, only because We the Sheeple were already statist and collectivist.

    If We the Sheeple were We the People, and we had free market anarchism, I’m convinced we would have excellent MRT systems that were cheap and efficient, planned and built by private enterprise, using private capital.

    • Transit as well as longer distance passenger rail travel is what it is because the companies in those businesses made deals with government for more short term profit. Government eventually bankrupted them and took over.

      We are currently watching the government close in on the health care industry in a similar manner. A government protected cartel will for short term profits will be squeezed politically long term until they are out of business.

      • They seem to be sticking pretty close to the Atlas Shrugged script, don’t they?

        It’s weird how production can continue, despite the increasing dystopia and degradation. Take Detroit for example:

        The economy of metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, a ten county area, has a population of over 5.3 million, a workforce of 2.6 million, and about 247,000 businesses.

        Detroit’s six county Metropolitan Statistical Area has a Gross Metropolitan Product of $200.9 billion.

        About 80,500 people work in downtown Detroit, comprising one-fifth of the city’s employment base. Metro Detroit has a high national ranking in emerging technology fields such as life sciences, information technology, and advanced manufacturing.

        Michigan ranks fourth in the U.S. in high tech employment with 568,000 high tech workers. Michigan typically ranks third or fourth in overall research and development expenditures in the United States. Metro Detroit is second largest source of architectural and engineering job opportunities in the U.S.

        Top Public Companies In Metro Detroit

        General Motors – National Rank 6
        Ford – National Rank 7
        Dow – National Rank 38
        Delphi – National Rank 121
        Ally – National Rank 147
        TRW Automotive – National Rank 169
        Lear – National Rank 195
        Penske Automotive – National Rank 225

        – – – – –
        Mus1ims stone Christians In Michigan
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnJBW49afzg

        Innocence of Mus1ims – Fu11 Movie
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ySE-yYeelE

      • Dear Tor, Brent,

        It’s so predictable.

        Always the same bullshit argument, that leads to the same bullshit result.

        “It has to be public because private enterprise couldn’t possibly afford it.”

        Then when Big Government Big Business collusion goes belly up due to myopia, what might (or might not) have been a sound technological solution lies in ruins.

        The public is deprived of the opportunity to learn if the technology would have been viable in the free market place. It has now been tainted by political patronage.

        • Problem 9: To Make Government the Great Capitalist and Enterpriser
          http://mises.org/daily/2726#9

          This essay should be read one section at a time. A devastating case is made that the American Revolution Came and Went During the New Deal(1933-1936.) Being an avid film, radio show, and depression era novel collector, I can absolutely confirm there is a night and day difference between all media from say 1932 and 1937 that supports this idea.
          Protip – a correct reference to Aristotle guarantees you win the argument.

          “Americans foolishly trusted in words. They forgot their Aristotle. More than 2,000 years ago he wrote of what can happen within the form, when “one thing takes the place of another, so that the ancient laws will remain, while the power will be in the hands of those who have brought about revolution in the state.”

          Ending the War on Work – Mike Rowe
          http://www.ted.com/talks/mike_rowe_celebrates_dirty_jobs.html
          Another excellent use of Aristotle.

          If you aren’t doing any actual work of either innovation or imitation-and-replication-of-innovation, or know someone, or have kids, watch all of Mike Rowe videos.

          Not the ones where he wades into the details of individual skilled workers, but the philosophical ones, including references to Aristotle, where he presents a coherent theory of skilled labor essential for anyone trying to break the chains of government dependence.
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5RW3tBRbik&list=PL0k1L4404P4-O23SVUQv61seb8w9LOXx_

    • It would be a small improvement if physical infrastructure were more like tech infrastructure.

      1) prototype is built.
      2) small scale tube is built on private property.
      3) medium scale tube is built and becomes profitable and successful.
      4) large crony company buys out promising tech and builds things according to PTB’s wishes, while pretending to still be capitalistic in nature.

      Some record of contribution and ownership should also be maintained and updated. Call it benefactorism, where contributions are explicitly acknowledged by delineated individuals, no hiding behind associations or regional authorities.

      another pet peeve is, how is it Mr a,b,c,d,e and f are taxed to build project alpha. Then bureaucrat, politician, and policeman force a-e to further serve project alpha, yet no one has any ownership in the project.

      I don’t understand USSA mocking China for saying something is the “Peoples High Speed Rail”

      In USSA there is only a “High Speed Rail Authority” and a whole slew of grifters, grafters, and praetorians that can beat you over the head for not complying with “public property, which no one owns at all. You are stolen from, and then made subservient to the thing built with your tax money.

  3. The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behavior “righteous indignation” — this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats.
    – Aldous Huxley – Chrome Yellow

    Waiting For The Sun

    At first flash of Eden. We race down to the sea. Standing there on freedom’s shore. Waiting for the sun.

    Can you feel it. Now that Spring has come. That it’s time to live in the scattered sun. Waiting for the sun. Waiting,, waiting,, waiting,, waiting, waiting,, waiting,, waiting,, waiting.

    Waiting for you to come along
    Waiting for you to hear my song
    Waiting for you to come along
    Waiting for you to tell me what went wrong

    This is the strangest life I’ve ever known. Waiting for the sun.

    Waiting for the sun – The Doors
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0kypyGSKsE

    Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robby Krieger – Indentured Performing Monkeys of Mass Distraction for Jac Holzman’s Elektra Records.

    The band’s name came from Aldous Huxley’s book The Doors of Perception, which itself was a reference to a William Blake quotation: “If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.”

    The Marriage of Heaven and Hell – William Blake
    http://archive.org/details/marriageofheaven00blak

    http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley

    THE ARGUMENT

    RINTRAH roars and shakes his fires in the burdened air,
    Hungry clouds swag on the deep.

    Once meek, and in a perilous path. The just man kept his course along The Vale of Death.

    Roses are planted where thorns grow, And on the barren heath Sing the honey bees.

    Then the perilous path was planted, And a river and a spring On every cliff and tomb;

    And on the bleached bones Red clay brought forth:
    Till the villain left the paths of ease To walk in perilous paths, and drive The just man into barren climes.

    Now the sneaking serpent walks In mild humility ;
    And the just man rages in the wilds Where Uons roam.

    As a new heaven is begun, and it is now thirty-three years since its advent, the Eternal Hell revives. And lo! Swedenborg is the angel sitting at the tomb: his writings are the Unen clothes folded up. Now is the domin-
    ion of Edom, and the return of Adam into Paradise…

  4. Toropolis – My Latest Genius Idea!

    Gentlemen, I have this awesome, totally moral idea:

    I think all of you, and a bunch of friends of mine, and I should gather up a bunch of guns, steal a large parcel of land by slaughtering the people who live there until one of them gives us the deed, and then build a town named in my honor: Toropolis.

    Anyone who doesn’t agree with our rules for this new town will be shot or locked in a steel cage with other people of the same sex who will inevitably start raping them. Rules are subject to change any time we feel like it.

    Everyone who lives in our new town has to chip in money for anything we say. If they don’t, we’ll put them into a rape cage, or just shoot them, whatever we decide.

    No one is allowed to enter our new town unless we say so. Any passerby intruders we don’t like, will be put in rape cages. If we don’t like the plants other people in our new town have, we’ll throw these people in our rape cages, no one is allowed to grow or possess any plants that we don’t like.

    No one is allowed to own their house in our new town. Everyone pays rent. If you don’t pay? Rape cage or death. If you wanna open a business? You’ll need to pay an extra higher level of rent. If you don’t pay? Rape cage.

    Everyone in our town will have to accept the new currency we will be printing, which are to be called Torbucks. If you’re caught using some other money we can’t keep track of, it’s rape cage and maybe even shooting for you.

    Here’s the benefits we provide you in return –

    1. If someone rapes you who we didn’t permit, give us a call and we’ll check it out. If we find them, we’ll throw them into a rape cage for a couple years, maybe.

    2. If someone murders you, we’ll show up after the fact and look around and have someone look at your corpse and try to figure out who did it. If we find them, we’ll make things right by putting them in a rape cage or killing them.

    3. If someone steals your shit, we’ll take a report of this.

    4. We’ll make sure the roads that now exist continue to be usable. We will rent you a piece of plastic that allows you to use these roads. If we catch you without your special piece of plastic, you’ll be sorry! You go into the rape cages, of course, unless you refuse, in which case, you’ll be shot .

    5. We’ll let you call yourself “Free”

    I think the merits of this idea speak for themselves. It’s obviously awesome and it’s how everyone else should live. If some other town does things differently, or talks badly about us, we’ll round up a bunch of folks from our town and send them over to that other town and have them put to death or put into rape cages.

    Of course you’ll have to earn additional Torbucks to get our guys over to the other town, and pay for when they get hurt, and pay for them to eat and have places to sleep. Everybody will have to make sacrifices and chip in. If you don’t volunteer to chip in? Rape cages or death, of course.

    I’m sure everyone will want to join me in my amazing new plan. There’ll be lots of positions available, especially for anyone skilled in building cages. If you don’t want to join, that is of course your choice. But be forewarned, failure to join may result in being captured and put into a rape cage, or even shot to death.

    • Tor –

      Magnificent! I feel like singing a song…. the lyrics are coming to me… I’m swelling with ….pride to be a Toropolan, where at least I know I’m freeeeeeeeeee!

  5. Mel Gibson Quotes:

    Mel: Tell me that’s a message or something. Because you’re doing something. Trying to breast feed with, uh, fucking foreign bodies in you.

    M: So you’re not lying to me about fake tits.

    M: Another lie, who cares. So, they look ridiculous, get rid of them why don’t you?

    M: They look stupid, I’m just telling you, it’s just an appraisal. Keep them if you want, look stupid, see if I give a fuck, you know. But they’re too big and they look stupid, they look like some Vegas bitch, they look like a Vegas whore. And you go around, sashaying around in your tight clothes, and stuff. I won’t stand for that anymore.

    M: Yes you fucking do, you go out in public and it’s a fucking embarrassment to me. You look like a fucking bitch in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of niggers it’ll be your fault. All right? Because you provoked it. You are provocatively dressed all the time, with your fake boobs, you feel you have to show off in tight outfits and tight pants (garbled) you can see your pussy from behind. And that green thing today was enough. That’s provocative. OK? I’m telling you. I’m just telling you the truth! I don’t like it. I don’t want that woman. I don’t want you! I don’t believe you anymore. I don’t trust you, I don’t love you. I don’t want you. OK?

    M: Stay in the fucking house. I’m not giving it to you, but I’ll let you stay there. OK? And I will take care of my child, but I don’t want you anymore.

    M: Stay on this phone and don’t hang up on me, I can, I have plenty of energy to drive over there. You understand me? (Screaming) And I will! So just fucking listen to me! Listen to my fucking ranting! Listen to what you do to me!

    M: You make my life so fucking difficult.

    M: If you’d be a woman who fucking supports me instead of a woman who sucks from me and just fucking sucks me dry, and whines, and whines; this relationship if you’re a good woman and you love me! I don’t believe you anymore!

    M: I’m sick of your bullshit! Has any relationship ever worked with you? Nooo!

    M: Shut the fuck up. I know because I know absolutely that you do not love me and you treat me with no consideration.

    M: I loved you because I treated you with every kindness, every consideration, you rejected, you will never be happy. Fuck you! Get the fuck away from me. But my daughter is important. All right? Now, you have one more chance, and I mean it. Now fucking go if you want, but I will give you one more chance. You make me wanna smoke, you fucked my day up, you care about yourself …

    M: I’ve been so fucking good to you, you fucking try to destroy me.

    M: Shut the fuck up! You should just fucking smile, and blow me! ‘Cause I deserve it!

    M: Who the fuck cares, we agreed nothing. You agreed, you just fucking expect shit. Go out to the goddamn Jacuzzi, go and fuck the fucking Jacuzzi, it’s a thing. You have no fucking soul!

    M: And my daughter’s screaming you have no fucking soul. You can’t give a fuck. I left my wife because we had no spiritual common ground. You and I have none! Zero! You won’t even fucking try. You don’t care.

    M: You insult me with every look, every fucking heartbeat, you selfish harpy.

    M: You apologized for nothing? You’re a dishonest cunt! Because you need to apologize for a reason.

    M: I need a woman! Not a fucking little girl with a fucking dysfunctional cunt. I need a fucking woman. I don’t need medication. You need a fucking bat in the side of the head. All right? How ’bout that? You need a fucking doctor. You need a fucking brain transplant. You need a fucking, you need a fucking soul. I need medication. I need someone who treats me like a man, like a human being. With kindness, who understands what gratitude is, because I fucking bend over backwards with my balls in a knot to do it all for her and she gives me shit, like a fucking sour look or says I’m mean. Mean? What the fuck is that? This is mean! Get it? You get it now? What mean is? Get it? You fucking don’t care about me. I’m having a hard time, and you fucking yank the rug, you bitch, you fucking selfish bitch. Don’t you dare hang up on me.

    M: Fuck you. I don’t, I don’t involve the police in anything because I can stand up for myself. You, you weak cunt, you call the fucking cops.

    M: Why don’t you fuck off to that cunt bitch Alyssia’s. She was fucking making eyes at me, she’d have sucked me in five seconds. Take that one up with her. I was trying to spare your goddamn feelings! She’d have blown me in five seconds, she’s not your friend. You don’t have any fucking friends except for me. And you treat me like shit. So that’s why you’re so fucking angry, because I don’t have any friends and I try to make one for you and you treat me like shit. And you fucking use me. The career is over, and boy when I said that you lit out of here faster than I’ve ever seen you before and now you’ll be at Alyssia’s place. You just showed me what you are. Absolutely, unequivocally.

    M: Then leave, cunt, bitch, golddigger, cunt, whore. And that’s what you are.

    M: The last three years have been a fucking gravy train for you.

    M: I’m threatening, I’ll put you in a fucking rose garden, you cunt. You understand that? ‘Cause I’m capable of it. You understand that? Get a fucking restraining order. For what? What are you going to get a restraining order for? For me being drunk and disorderly? For hitting you? For what?

    M: No! You’re paying her with my money. It doesn’t matter what you give her, it’s my fucking money. You understand? You’re not … you don’t have your own money, you’re only using my money. OK?

    M: I’m letting you fly now, cunt!

    M: What are you talking about, you fragging ignorant bitch? I don’t understand you! You’re saying stupid shit. How dare you even fucking insult me with some of the stupid reasoning you have. Your logic sucks because you’re a fucking mentally deprived idiot!

    M: I deserve to be blown, first, before the fucking Jacuzzi! OK? I’ll burn the goddamn house down, but blow me first! How dare you!! How fucking dare you. Rerrrggghh!! You wanted the number of my therapist? Don’t you ever speak to him! Find your own goddamn therapist. Because you got problems, more than me.

    M: You know how to fucking push my buttons. And it is not going to work with us. It’s not! I can’t get like this anymore! And you know you’re doing it! And you’re a liar, you’re dishonest, and you’re fucked up. So you stay the fuck away from me. Take care of your fucking son. And I’d better have my daughter. I just want my daughter, and a maid! It’s a lot less fucking trouble. The clean up after themselves, they make your goddamn bed, which you did not, you don’t have to worry about emotional blackmail, or any of that other bullshit you put me through. I just need a nice woman to look after my beautiful daughter. You’re a pain in the ass! You’re a pain in my ass! Stop being that!

    M: You fucking offend me. And you don’t care about anyone but yourself, and your fucking stupid fucking failed career. And it’s ruined us. Because you fucking can’t, fucking, you wanted that dress? I can’t believe you asked for that. And the tickets, in the Lakers box? I got rid of the box, now nobody gets tickets because of you. I had to sell the motherfucker!

    M: Good! That makes it real clear, that was so easy, the minute I pulled the plug, you’re out of here. You can’t handle it, because you’re a whore and a bitch.

    M: You. Ruined. Mine. First! I ruined your life. How did I ruin your life? I gave you shit, you gave me nothing but fucking grief. Alright? And bad publicity, you cunt! How did I ruin your life?

    M: I’d like to show you what mean really is, bitch, cunt, whore, golddigger. All true! You fucking proved it to me! If you’re ever interested in proving otherwise, let me know. If you don’t care, I’ll know you know what you are too. Look at yourself, and look what you’ve done. Look what you’ve fucking done. Look at your son. He’s a fucking mess. You fucking excuse for a mother. You’re a fucking bitch.

    Internet Comments On Mel Gibson Quotes:

    Quick! Somebody get Mr. Gibson a Klonopin and a blowjob.

    What”s next? “Passion 2, Return of the Christ?”

    Yes, Mel’s an idiot

    We all know that. Now let’s move on.

    Out of his own mouth

    Gibson is truly mean & immature and takes a tantrum like a little kid. He is intimidating and by his own admission can kill and that he hit her. He claims he has no money???? Doesn’t he gets huge tax exemptions on that bogus church that he established. I think this man needs to spend some time behind bars so he can understand what it means to intimidate, threaten to kill and physically hurt a woman. Lohan is being put in jail for drinking and this man walks the street. He is a mean drunk who has gotten caught for drunk driving and has not been put in jail. He obviously is still drinking. The only difference between Gibson and Lohan is that Lohan has not threatened or hit or abused some man. Gibson is a racist, sexist and all those bad “ists”. I wish I could get back all the money I spent on his movies. Oh yes I forgot he has none. What an insult to all the true poor of this world.

    Normally I want domestic abusers to get treatment and get better

    I don’t think he can get better at this stage of his life. His abuse of this woman is consistent with his radical Catholic politics. It’s not just an aberration, it’s a coming to life of everything toxic that his little private religious sect offers for women.

    I think it was a worthwhile social investment to give Chris Brown therapy instead of jail. He’s a good candidate for change and growth. But Mel — forget it. He’s not going to change at this stage of his life. His abuse is the result of very deeply held beliefs abut the place of women in the world. He’s deeply committed to this sick abusive worldview. What you see is what you get.

    If there’s evidence that he hit her while she was holding the baby, then forget the therapy, just find some room for him in jail.

    The horse is dead. Fuck it or walk away from it, but for the love of anything you hold dear, please quit beating it.

    What this really is is trial dialogue from Gibson’s planned sequel to ‘Whatever Happened to Virginia Wolf.’ Only this time, we’re all the uncomfortable dinner guests. Spoiler alert: There is no daughter.

    I agree with Mel. His daughter is going to read all this someday because it was recorded it and made it public- that woman is despicable.

    A perfect marriage made in hell. Mel-O-Maniac and Oksana were meant for each other. No doubt about it, the man is the biggest jerk this side of Hollywood. Mel-O-Maniac is also a mark. Oksana is a lady who knows one; and proceeded to play him like a fiddle.
    Ick!! Two really creepy people.

    A woman records a series of conversation where her lover threatens over and over to kill her – can you not understand why she might want a legal record of his death threats? You read this transcript where he endlessly calls her names I don’t even choose to type, and you call her despicable? There’s something seriously wrong in your head.

    Yipes. And I thought I was dysfunctional.

    Can’t handle life’s pressures, Mel? Mel needs to go walkabout–for a long, long time–in the Australian Outback. Get him out of here.
    We are getting sick of his spoiled, racist and twisted outbursts.

    Soft porn. I’ll bet that Mel’s fixin’ to go into the porn movie business and he’s getting all revved up for his first movie “Make Up Sex”

    I wonder Mel speaks like this when he’s faithfully attending Mass. Mel, you talk to Jesus with that mouth?

    Hooded Feminists. For all you hooded feminists with the torches and nooses: consider this: Your husband takes your baby from you, takes out a restraining order so you can’t get near him or the baby, and then proceeds to record your ensuing phone calls. What happens ? I smell a salon teaching moment.

    Rage. Is not simply a byproduct of Hollywood entitlement. My father had rage/alcoholism issues that were very similar to what we see of Gibson in these transcripts. We’d drop a glass on the floor and it was “you bitch you fucking moron what did I do to deserve you?” Nobody outside of the family ever saw this and my mother was too terrified to ever try to leave him. We lived in abject fear of him. This kind of rage is irrational and narcissistic and when it comes after you, you need to run and hide fast.

    Minutes? Honestly, that transcript could pass for many a Salon Editorial Meeting replete with Minutes taken and even the afterward Coffee Klatch Chat session.

    It’s like exactly weighing the tons of bodies found at a concentration camp, or the way a defense attorney tries to get a female rape victim to oh-so-minutely retell what happened to her. It doesn’t add anything to the basic fact of what happened.

    Spreadin his seed everywhere. He’s up to what? 11 kids now? Clearly he doesn’t care who he sticks it into as long as she’s hot and a kid pops out. Cheated on his wife with this slut, cheated on her with another slut. Untold numbers of pickups in bars. He doesn’t really want a blowjob. He wants a quick fluff so he can come in someone and create more kids.

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