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| Rail and Telegraph : The Overland Telegraph Australia originally joined 1872 |
Perhaps you've been reading the naysayer's commentary, or otherwise following it on twitter. My suggestion is to follow @mollywood 's great CNET article on that topic. There is a right time for an idea as well, the drive technology has to be right, the need, the public readiness for change and the materials technology has to be economic. When all these factors line up, then you can see the right things happening. I'll admit Right of Way can be costly, but this should not be a problem in Australia between Sydney and Canberra at least.
Let's go back in history for a bit...
George Medhurst, an 18/19th century railway inventor, could see the imposition of gravity on Iron was the one thing that made rail travel reach it's limit. Technical evolution has come up with lighter carriages, but the wheels and engines are still Iron, limiting speeds to around 400-500km an hour even today, with most high speed trains operating somewhere between 300-400km hour. The main limitation is the momentum, collision avoidance and having to have a perfectly flat track and round wheels with minimal G forces as it moves along.
Medhurst's idea relating to the Aeolian engine was to make a 'pneumatic' train like as in a mailing tube. His idea back in the early 1800's pre-dated the invention of insulated copper wire, electromagnetism, communications, SCADA and all sorts of useful information technology which he most probably could have used to see the idea through.
Musk's Hyperloop Alpha paper point's out the obvious disadvantages of just a mailing tube and resolves these by the augmentation of a positive pressure compressor in the pod and the incorporation of linear magentic motors on about 1% of the track. So -- Idea meets other Idea.
Australian's are basically very practical and prone to early adoption of ideas where the naysayer's have less sway. The telegraph is just one example.
Samuel F. B. Morse, one of the greatest 19th century inventors, had to struggle and sweat against naysayers to get Congress to approve his 40 miles of copper wire in which to prove the idea of the ElectroMagnetic recording telegraph. His now famous message 'What hath God Wrought' sent to his friend Annie G Ellesworth in thanks from Washington to Baltimore in 1844 proved the idea.
Morse's invention paved the way for it's early adoption in the first telegraph line built in Australia. Australian's too were so supportive of telegraph invention, that the first telegraph line and stations were built less than 15 years later, and an overland telegraph was constructed through the outback on the back of imported Afgan camels, from Adelaide to Darwin by 1872 and therefore allowing telegrams to be sent from Sydney to London within 28 years of Morse's first telegraphic message to his friend Annie.
By contrast Australian colonial governments very slow adopters of the railway, but still pre-dated South Africa, having the first railway from Sydney to Parammatta [a flat 22km or so] in 1849 started, but run into financial difficulty before completion by the Government. Railways are difficult, costly and hard to retrofit once other infrastructure is in place. In some cases the vision can never be realized.
It is with Samuel Morse in mind that the construction of the USA transcontinental telegraph from the East Coast to California was started and with it's completion, obsoleted overnight almost the requirement for the brilliant supply chain solution of 'The Pony Express' in 1861. So it will be with the Hyperloop eventually obsoleting all forms of light passenger transport - intercity - and totally revolutionise commuting. It's hard to imagine, but it is not unimaginable.
So - whilst I agree that California is desirable, it might be easier to get the Hyperloop off the ground and across rivers and valleys by building a simpler one out in Australia where various factors can be observed and trialled before going hyper-drive in California. Australia is blessed with a great economy, a very interested but small population, and big cities with much outback in between. I have a good feeling about the Hyperloop idea. There is enough great supporting technology and materials available now for the tube and airborne pods to actually happen.
The politicians in Canberra are vying for vision at the moment in the days before the Australian Govt. election. It might be time for +Elon Musk to give one of them a call !. +Kevin Rudd PM.. it's not too late !.
What do you think about the Hyperloop idea ? Engineers read up on the real deal here !!
Would it be best to build it somewhere else first ?
Is California the right place for the first one ?
If there was a large Hyperloop tube directly lined up outside your place - would you paint it ? Decorate it ?
Now I've downloaded the Hyperloop Alpha III pdf and intend to read it in more depth. Perfect for my eReader on those long Iron commuter train journeys home. As product manager for some of the SCADA technology for the railway I'll be riding on, I hope to be able to envisage what if anything we might do about that same technology when applied to linear motors spaced every so often accross the outback.
Share this idea with your mates ! Perhaps we can get it to boomerang back to California.
Chris,
Sydney 20 August 2013.
Photo courtesy Attribution : Flickr : Ozeraser
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