Many questions surround Elon Musk's proposal for a super-high-speed Hyperloop transportation system that would use air cushioning to send passengers through a tube between San Francisco and Los Angeles in just 30 minutes.
The biggest question is whether it will ever get built. There are lots of opinions on that one, but no definite answer yet.
One question that it appears can be answered now, however, is being asked by plenty of people outside the scientific community: "Wouldn't the people inside the capsule traveling through the tube at hundreds of miles an hour get crushed by high G-forces?"
The answer is no, and the explanation involves relatively simple physics.
According to John Lindner, professor of physics at The College of Wooster in Ohio, "If Hyperloop works as planned, for most of the trip the passengers would move at constant velocity in a sealed container, so it would feel like riding a plane or train."
That's because G-forces, the sensation of pressing weight that's familiar to anyone who has taken a roller coaster ride, are the result of acceleration, not just speed.