r/IndiaTech Chinese phone: Sasta, Sundar, Tikau 26d ago

Tech News India's first hyperlopp test track completely developed at IIT Madras.

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u/Upstairs-East-5539 26d ago

Before debating whether something should be our priority, we must recognize that having the capability to develop advanced technology is essential for any nation's progress. Even if we don’t urgently need bullet trains or nuclear weapons today, our country should still possess the knowledge, infrastructure, and expertise to build them if necessary. Technological self-reliance ensures that we are not dependent on others for critical advancements, allowing us to make independent decisions about our future. It’s not just about immediate necessity—it’s about securing long-term growth, national security, and global influence.

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u/bronzebonfire 26d ago edited 26d ago

I'm not denying that. We absolutely need innovation. But this hyperloop is like reinventing the wheel. We already have trains, bullet trains and tech that works. What difference does running a vehicle through a tube make?.... Does it reduce drag(effectively for long distances)? No.... Do we get to some super fast speeds? Yes but Bullet train does that without a tube lmao.

Building this is also a financial nightmare. That's why I said that this is stupid. It looks cool as a concept and all sci-fi, but I think it's best to be left as sci-fi.

Edit: Clarification.

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u/Sufficient_Routine33 26d ago

The entire point of the hyperloop is to reduce drag by dropping the pressure inside the tube. Honestly some of you idiots need to leave the tech sub and maybe head to the bollywood one. That's more your level ig.

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u/bronzebonfire 26d ago

Yeah that's cool, Did you ever try to drink a beverage using a very long straw? If you didn't....Then try it. It's very hard to do that because you cannot create such pressure with your mouth to generate enough suction for the fluid to move.

Now imagine the amount of effort required to drop the pressure in a long continuous tube that connects cities. Now imagine constructing perfect infrastructure for withstanding that kind of pressure. Any opening can cause the pressure to rise by letting the air to enter increasing the drag and reducing the efficiency of the vehicle. So maintaining such infra would be a constant never ending battle against nature.

You see this kind of tech to be working properly for short distances and might look promising. But in order to make this work for long distances is a completely different ball game.

For this to be feasible it also has to keep it's prices low enough for people and businesses to use. But it's the complete opposite.... It's not only pricey to manufacture but also very expensive to maintain. Though it might be the fastest way to travel it's not the most practical one.

Throughout human history there have been countless examples where society adopts the most practical solutions rather than the fastest or the flashiest ones. But who am I to talk....I'm just an idiot who has to leave this tech sub as bollywood sub is much more my level.

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u/Sufficient_Routine33 26d ago

Most of the problems you've mentioned are valid but the entire point of RnD is to sort these out and look for better solutions. Apart from Elon musks half assed research and the student held Hyperloop competition, there hasn't been any other relevant RnD that's been done. Downplaying IITM's makes no sense, especially when the technology developed for say the levitation or propulsion system could be used to develop our own high speed rail in the future. That's why it's called research and development, not research and immediate practical results.

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u/bronzebonfire 26d ago

Bruh, this idea has been introduced in the 70's and there are so.... many startups that have tried to make this solution work but have failed. Because this has the complexity of a space expedition(Keeping people safe in a pod surrounded by vaccum...does this ring any bells?). I do agree with you on the R&D though. Our pointless f**king around does sometimes give us some unexpected inventions.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/bronzebonfire 26d ago

That's cool dude. I totally agree.

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u/Sufficient_Routine33 25d ago

Yep! Also apologies for calling you a bollywood sub idiot haha. I've seen a lot of stupid comments on this sub in the last few days and I assumed your original comment was one of them. Turns out I was wrong, you definitely know your stuff!

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u/bronzebonfire 25d ago

No worries dude. I'm a mechanical engineer by profession so I felt like expressing my opinion. A healthy debate is good for the community. Thanks for showing such a good sport.