this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2024
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Futurology
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I have watched both of these videos dozens of times. So I'll say this again:
Video 1
Everything Adam says about Elon Musk, how expensive Hyperloops are, why we should focus on building HSRs and so on is correct. This video makes perfect sense for TODAY.
However, building a Hyperloop doesn't break physics. It's an engineering challenge. Like fusion, or human flight (before we mastered it).
Video 2
Yes, speed isn't as beneficial to freight travel as it is to passenger travel. That being said, it doesn't mean that it has no benefits at all. If it had no benefits, why did we switch for 100% wind propelled sailboats to oil powered ships for trans Atlantic travel? The reason is simple - speed. Why does air freight even exist when we can ship everything using ships?
A benefit of faster freight is supply chains that adapt a lot quicker. Take Covid for example. During Covid, supply chains required A LOT of time to adjust to the sudden changes in supply and demand everywhere. One of the biggest reasons here was because of the sheer amount of time it takes for a container to get from A to B on a ship.
Slow freight transportation works perfectly when there are no sudden changes in supply and demand. When there are though, they kinda go for a toss.
The switch to steam was not just speed. More important than speed is to reliably arrive when expected. Which modern freight does (by and large). The few cases where speed is actually needed probably wont be enough to finance an entirely new transport medium, but we will see.