Comments by "SmallSpoonBrigade" (@SmallSpoonBrigade) on "Watch people travel in Virgin Hyperloop for the first time" video.

Khalid why make it illegal? The laws of thermodynamics pretty much ensure that this will never be better than a standard bullet train.
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@randal_gibbons orbital and suborbital space travel will happen before this does. That at least is plausible. Roughly 90 minutes between any two places on earth and uses a lot less than the near infinite energy thus would take.
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@randal_gibbons imagine jumping off a bridge into the water. If you're not treat high, it's fun, if you're several hundred feet up, it's fatal even though you can sink in it. The science on this is known and it's not ever going to be better than bullet trains or flying machines, it's just not possible without violating the laws of thermodynamics.
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Nearly infinite cash would be required to operate it over a nontrivial distance. The world's largest vacuum chamber is a small fraction of the volume of tube needed just to go between nearby towns. You wouldn't even be able to get up to speed snd slowed in that distance.
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Yes, by a lot. This isn't that much faster than what trains in the US can manage now.
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@robertlee8805 what hyperloop is going 600mph? None of them are or will, they depend on a vacuum that can't be created or maintained.
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@randal_gibbons that didn't require a rewrite of the same laws of thermodynamics that were required to build the thing in the first place.
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@ErikCrowKrahe what's more awesome is going through space to get where you want to go. It's faster, more flexible, more fun and just as fatal if you screw it up.
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@thirstfast1025 we've been putting trains in tubes since the 19th century, the issue is that you hit a point where you can't increase the speed and capacity enough to compete with the aerospace industry.
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@poruatokin yes, the main issue with it was cost and the ultimate development of better telecommunications equipment. The sonic boom wasn't anymore of an issue for it than other aircraft capable of supersonic speed. The sr-71 otoh, leaked like a sieve at lower speeds and would have issues with that.
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@poruatokin it's the same problem, the energy necessary to make any meaningful reduction dooms this. You're not going to drop pressure enough to compete with the aerospace industry that just had to get the items up to where pressure drops on it's own and isn't constrained to specify routes. Bullet trains themselves already go so fast that you're not going to benefit much from a reduction in air pressure, as those who need even faster just fly. Additionally, tunneling is expensive and inflexible to begin with.
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