7/19/2013: Hyperloop and Friends: Why Don’t We Have Super-High-Speed Rail Already?

The idea of teleportation is a fascinating one. Being able to travel between point A and B instantaneously, regardless of distance. Although this idea has never been proven, cutting traveling time between points A and B is always an idea that can be improved. In the article above, an idea of minimized time travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles, is proposed by Elon Musk, chief of Tesla Motors and SpaceX. Musk has the idea of what he calls the “Hyperloop”, which is a high-speed underground train system that will travel between San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than an hour. The science behind the Hyperloop is that it will contain air-tight train cars that will flow with wind speeds more than 600 miles per hour in an underground vacuum tunnel. Is it possible? I believe anything is possible, and maybe one day, teleportation will be too. Is it likely? I don’t think so.

Time manages our lives. The amount of time available determines what actions can be done. Productivity correlates to the amount of work or tasks accomplished in the amount of time used. I feel that the idea of the Hyperloop is to minimize the amount of time needed to travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Hyperloop is said to make travelling time between the two locations to be less than an hour. The amount of time in a plane to fly between the two locations takes about an hour and a half. That’s not including time spent getting to the airport and checking in through the TSA, possibly an extra hour or so. But is the time saved through the Hyperloop worth it? Let’s look at the ethical issues.

Ethically, technology has a purpose of providing benefits to human welfare. I don’t think the costs of the Hyperloop will match the benefits it provides. The Hyperloop will definitely cost billions of dollars, and the amount of time to build the underground tunnel that will pass under 600 miles of cities will take years. It will provide jobs, but there can be other jobs developed based on the idea of minimizing time travel. Why not invest more in developing less energy dependent travel? Alternative energy vehicles have become more common, and as far as planes, we are still dependent on fuel. What other methods can reduce traffic congestion? San Francisco’s BART system allows me to travel without a car in the bay area. In LA, I can’t get anywhere without a car. Are our highway systems inefficient or is it just over population? Should jobs not be completed in the hours from 9 to 5? What other solutions can allow time to be used for tasks other than travel? Working from home does just that.

If we can use ideas such as the Hyperloop to fuel solutions to travelling problems around today, then we have a brighter future in not just saving energy, but in saving time.