Comment by ShannonAlther
9 years ago
> But there's no engineering reason why a hole in the ground can't happen.
Depending on the specific location, there may very well be. Underground tunnels are vulnerable to earthquake-inflicted damage, for instance, and you would want to avoid repair as much as possible.
Similarly, there may be environmental or conservatory reasons not to build tunnels, or reasons related to cost, or obstacles not yet encountered (that last one is less likely though).
This is Elon's response to a Twitter users similar comment about earthquakes. I don't know enough about physics to say if he's just throwing things out there or if he already did some research.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/824300186834898945
Mmm, so I spoke too soon on that front. In my defense, I've said this a lot to people who are advocates of Hyperloop construction (vacuum tubes are far too easily ruptured to be used in conjunction with transportation), but Musk is correct.
Are subways targets for terrorism the same way that airports are?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack
All public transportation is.
Just look at the Big Dig. One small mistake (using the wrong glue or fasteners) can put the safety of the entire safety into question.
Yes, see Pinheiros subway station accident as a good example:
http://oglobo.globo.com/fotos/2007/07/11/11_MHG_sp_metro4.jp... https://www.ita-aites.org/fr/news/download/383_4725e686e12d3...
But those exist for above ground systems too, right? Earthquakes damage roads, bridges. Road and rail impact the environment as well.
The Seattle viaduct is a good example of transportation infrastructure that is very vulnerable to quakes. They're replacing it with a tunnel, so I assume they have worked out how much damage an earthquake will do. At least the tunnel can't fall on anyone, unlike the viaduct which would pancake and render the waterfront inaccessible.
broadly, a generic hole is doable, it's been done many places.
just like software is doable. :)
sometimes you can't do it. but generally... you can. :)