From: Chen Yixiong, Eric (cyixiong@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Sep 24 2001 - 04:46:23 MDT
> Pardon my sarcasm, but as an engineer with 20 years experience in real
> world design, build, testing, and analysis, I get A BIT TESTY when
> starry-eyed dreamers throw out utterly impractical castles in the sky
> without have *the least clue* that they are, indeed, impractical. The
> disconnect is so complete that a meaningful discussion is almost
> impossible, like virgins speculating about sex.
Some of you might like abolish an idea in an offensive manner, but what about proposing alternative ideas to the ones you abolish?
I do admit that I don't have sufficient knowledge of *everything*, or even of some "obvious" things, to ensure I can make flawless arguments all the time. I admit I don't have expert knowledge and experience to compare with some people here on this list. That does not stop me from imagining the future, and neither do I want to cover up my ignorance by *not* posting.
I wonder, what *if* we did develop the technology to make the rail technology cheap, such as finding high temperature superconductors, or a very efficient way to maintain insulation? What if we managed to reduce acceleration to acceptable levels, such as with booster rockets and evacuated rail guns?
Yes, I know this thing does cost a lot to establish, but it seems like a cost effective option in the long run because it does cost to build vehicles, roads, and of course, also of injuries and deaths from human-caused accidents. It also saves a lot of time and inconvenience, making it something we seriously ought to consider.
I didn't say that this rail launchers have immunity against terrorist attacks, but at least it would limit the ability of terrorists to take command of a manually controlled system, and also reducing the impact of the attacks by automated rerouting to bypass the damaged regions.
It could had built in surveillance systems with explosive detectors, face recognition systems or something, to detect any obvious terrorist attempts, and AI to avoid any action that might cause it harm such as continuing to travel towards an explosion, but this goes beyond the scope of my original proposal.
What would the future transporation system look like? Would the experts now like to say a few words?
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