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[-] superkret@lemmy.ml 106 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

This actually works. All you have to do is decelerate the train once (because it's spinning with the world while you build it).

And solve the trivial engineering task of reducing all friction and air resistance to zero. Oh, and that of getting on and off the train.

[-] mrbubblesort@kbin.social 52 points 9 months ago

And solve the trivial engineering task of reducing all friction and air resistance to zero.

Well shit, anyone can do that. Just put a little WD40 on it

[-] MashedTech@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago
[-] octoperson@sh.itjust.works 10 points 9 months ago

You build your track dead straight - like, not conforming to the surface direct through the crust straight. Now the train accelerates downhill for the first half of the journey, and decelerates uphill for the second, neatly coming to a stop at the destination. Oddly enough, in the spherical cow universe where you build this, all the maths cancels such that you get a constant travel time regardless of the start and end locations. On earth it's about 40 minutes

[-] Zeth0s@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

You need energy to decelerate, though.

[-] superkret@lemmy.ml 31 points 9 months ago

Just use magnets.
Pls send my Nobel price by mail, I'm not good at speeches.

[-] Zeth0s@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

Fridge magnets are the secret of infinite energy

[-] pinkdrunkenelephants@sopuli.xyz 3 points 9 months ago

🤔 A vacuum tube maglev would do the trick.

Actually Isaac Arthur talks about something like that on his channel. An Orbital Ring, he calls it.

[-] Jumuta@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago

you could conceivably get on and off the train with shuttle "station" trains that travel on parallel tracks to catch up with the main train

this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2023
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