----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Wallis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Donald Qualls" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 10:15 AM
Subject: Re: [ERPS] What is F.A.S.T.?
> I'd say "currently attainable" - evacuated transcontinental tube travel
> is MUCH farther off than SSSO (single stage sub orbital) flight in my
> opinion. There are far greater engineering challenges and far higher
> development costs. Absent someone finding such a tube left by some
> prior advanced civilization we're not yet aware of, I'd say anyone
> looking to this route would not be impressed or inspired by the paulty
> amount of money offered for completing the trip. Same goes for zero
> point energy, matter transmission and several other similar
> interesting but technically unachievable modes of transportation.
Well, the difference between evacuated tube (at least the surface version,
as opposed to the gravity form that uses chordal tubes through the Earth's
mantle or even core) and zero point energy or matter transmission is that
the physics of the tube are well known and it requires no major engineering
breakthroughs -- just a desire and lots of money. Given an application for
supra-orbital transport speeds with sufficient money behind it, we could
start construction on such tubes next week (siesmic issues would require
some expensive, but not unknown engineering solutions; antiterror security
would be more difficult by a large factor).
I say again, I'm talking about a cross between a cannon and subway, not
something that requires drilling through semi-plastic mantle rock.
--
What you own is your own kingdom, what you do is your own glory.
What you love is your own power, and what you live is your own story.
-- Neil Peart, 1976
Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer
Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm
Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm
Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.
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