Originally posted by The Lizard King
Not to mention,
the math does not add up.

Yes Math is a problem sometimes..

the volume of concrete used to build Hoover Dam was 4.4 million cu yd 4400000 (3.36 million cu m).

2000 mile tube x 15 yard diameter = a removed volume of material of about 50 cubic yards per yard of tunnel..

1750 yards x 50 = cubic yards per mile or 87,500 cu yards per MILE

87,500 X 2000 miles = 175, MILLION cubic yards of material to be removed...

So the United States has built an underground tunnel that requires the removal of 40 times the material placed in situ to build Hoover Dam...

Hoover Dam took 6 years to build while it was out in the wide open..

And there is no legally binding evidence of such a wonder of the known world.

The big pyramid in Egypt

The volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic meters.

We just built something that is and resulted in a pile of rock somewhere, that is roughly 70 times of the size of the Great Pyramid of Egypt...and 40 times the size of Hoover Dam.. and we did this underground....

And we kept it a secret?

[edit on 29-5-2010 by seataka]

Well I'll be!

This may just explain why Nancy Pelosi looks like she's been standing in a wind tunnel for years. LoL

But if we do have this then why does the President still fly Air Force One to the west coast? I can see Air Force Two needing to come here so that if something happened to the tunnel or he needed to leave somewhere else in short time he could. Or maybe he does and AF1 is just a ruse.

Originally posted by fraterormus
I'm calling B.S. for the same reason another poster made in regards to 14,000 mph being the equivalent of Mach 18.7.

For comparison, here are the current speed records:

Land Speed Record - 768 mph (rocket-assisted)
Rail Speed Record - 581 mph (using Maglev technology)
Air Speed Record - 2,194 mph (manned - Military record)
Air Speed Record - 7,546 mph (unmanned - Military record)

Granted, there were unmanned rocket sled on rails tests performed by the Military that could achieve up to Mach 8.5. However, these were in closed, controlled environments and could never sustain those speeds for long periods of time.

The basic fact of the matter comes down to G-Force being the distinguishing difference between unmanned and manned speeds. The human lung cannot function and breathe in air if experiencing greater than a couple of G's. The rest of the human body itself cannot sustain forces much greater than that (run a hamster through a high speed centrifuge if you want an example of what happens...just don't let PETA know).

If the Underground Bullet Train theory had stated speeds of 500-700mph then it might be plausible and remotely believable. However, claiming that not only does an entire secret underground rail system exist without it leaking out, but it operates faster than anything else the government has is too far of a stretch. Stating that it is used for transporting personnel instead of being unmanned cargo transport, takes even more of the believability away.

Sorry, I simply can't swallow that whopper of a tale...especially since our national leaders use Air Travel even during times of National Emergency.

Every single manned rocket to leave orbit has gone those speeds and the iss cruises at them, the iss does so in a vacuum which goes with what the op has stated.

How they could manage to pull anywhere near a vacuum over 2000 + miles of tunnels would be fascinating to hear.

Also there is other methods that minimize drag like an air spike that are now old tech.

The G forces would not be a problem, because G forces have nothing to do with speed and everything to do with acceleration. So as long as it's not trying to break some "0 to 14,000" record, you're in good shape. Just have a gentle acceleration until the car is up to speed.

Concerning the VHST system, Sounds like you are looking at a T.A.U.S.S. or a electromagnetic suspension (EMS) systems

Originally posted by PokeyJoe
I think the G's exerted on the passengers of these trains just about makes it impossible....

That's exactly what I said. Even if they could replicate such a vacuum, which I highly doubt in such a Mammoth capacity, the stress on it's human occupants would be devastating.

Originally posted by NewlyAwakened
The G forces would not be a problem, because G forces have nothing to do with speed and everything to do with acceleration. So as long as it's not trying to break some "0 to 14,000" record, you're in good shape. Just have a gentle acceleration until the car is up to speed.

The slightest exertion at such speeds would tear a human apart, unless you slowly accelerated and there were absolutely no turns, what so ever. Just the acceleration to such speeds to keep a person from being ripped apart would be hours and then the slow down would be the same.

Originally posted by Bearack

Originally posted by NewlyAwakened
The G forces would not be a problem, because G forces have nothing to do with speed and everything to do with acceleration. So as long as it's not trying to break some "0 to 14,000" record, you're in good shape. Just have a gentle acceleration until the car is up to speed.

The slightest exertion at such speeds would tear a human apart, unless you slowly accelerated and there were absolutely no turns, what so ever. Just the acceleration to such speeds to keep a person from being ripped apart would be hours and then the slow down would be the same.

That is completely untrue, check your math.

I stand corrected. The shuttle goes from 0 to 17,000 mph in 8.5 minutes. I still, however, find this form of transportation near impossible with todays technology. That is as a ground based transportation. Ramjets are suppose to also reach such speeds, but as far as I know, these speeds have only been tested with unmanned craft.

Originally posted by Optix
I wonder what kind of tech is used to achieve that speed? magnets? Also where are all the sounds of sonic booms going?14,000 mph is way over the sound barrier.

My guess is the air is probably sucked out of these tunnels to avoid wind resistance...no air means no sonic boom.

Great thread, things like this really intrest me, I recently found something out about my home town, the whole city centre has a huge underground bunker/tunnels/communication centre and other stuff due to a nuclear attack that they was expecting, from what ive read.

But I love these secret underground buildings/transit, anything basically that the public is not supposed to know, I would not put it past them the whole earth is probably hollow in spots.

Originally posted by Dewm0nster
I'm serious.
I take the under ground system to work, every day.
We call it the HVT.
Hyper Velocity Train.

Most of the Navy guys I have talked to just call it "The Tube"

And I am pretty sure one station is right below the Luxor in Vegas, which is directly across from the Janet terminal