Extreme Engineering - S01E03 - Part1/5 - transatlantic tunnel

[xLoB63x]

12 trillion dollars? molecular transportations would be a cheaper option i guess :)

[seb23490]

live on one side and work on the other? Bollocks. The price of a return ticket would be ridiculous.

[avidas2000]

how about we make faster planes and ditch the tunnel idea?

[avidas2000]

i got a solution for transatlantic travel. airplanes.

[ericajjful]

love the video man

[Seacadetguy]

@marinesallday It's designed to 'flex'

[TimArmst]

There are many reasons that this probably wouldn't work and I'm not a scientist but it seems like the sound barrier would pose a problem to tunnels thousands of metres under the ocean. The speed of sound is around 761mph, trains traveling at 5000mph would be constantly breaking the sound barrier causing sonic shockwaves in the tunnels. We have trouble creating structures which can stand undersea pressures under normal conditions, can't forsee a tunnel able to withstand sonic booms at 4miles deep

[PtOs]

@TimArmst Well.. Hence that's why the tunnel would be in a vacum ;) 

[TimArmst]

@PtOs Yupp, commented before I watched the whole thing

[W0Wman1]

This tunnel, if constructed, would become obsolete by space travel. At least with space travel, one is not limited to travel to a single destination. Even if it takes a little longer to fly. The difference in timing would not be enough to justify almost doubling America's debt.

[hop208]

@W0Wman1 It was never suggested in this that the cost would solely by the US's to bare. Although a really cool idea, I doubt it would be built. Besides being too costly, it poses an enormous security issue. An enemy of any European nation or the US could attack this tunnel and destroy/make unusable a multi-trillion dollar investment. Fuel is going to be a major issue in the future which is the only reason why I could see this electrically powered train being made.

[tigger7740]

I don't know i will be alive by the time this happens. Lets see.

[KoziolekMatolek2010]

5000 miles/hr makes almost 1.5 mile per second so, the beginning of the movie showing 2 trains must be in a slow motion :):):)

[AmbushKillerWopper]

Some projects are better off left undone & the Transatlantic Tunnel is one of them.

[Kleavers]

I would totally go on this. I hate planes. This would only take an hour ffs!

[CinnabonChan]

@Kleavers Yeah, as someone who lives in London, and whose family live in New York, this idea really got my attention. When you think about it, it's no less terrifying then getting on a hollow metal tube and flying through the air thousands of feet above the ocean.

The only thing I wonder is, there's still so much we don't know about the ocean. What would they do if a herd of whales swam into it? Plus this thing would be number one target on every terrorist's hit list.

[scottvideos100]

People said that the chunnel tunnel would never happen, but decades later France and England goverment prove them wrong, we have trains traveling to and from London to Paris every minute and it only take 2 hrs 15 min. As an none keen flyer, Travelling to France on a plane, take two hours to check in and go through security checks before getting on the plane, so why wouldnt this be possible to build an transatlantic tunnel across the Atlantic. i wouldnt mind traveling on it.

[santoyrayado]

lets stick to planes

[Webofscience]

Err, the Altantic Ocean is still growing!! How the hell would this work?

[priusone]

It makes more sense to build one across the Bering Strait. Sure, for time sake one across the Atlantic makes sense, but for 'get it done sooner than later' Bering Strait all the way.

[teafbut]

Teleporters - spend the moeny on that.

[coconutesther]

this is the stupidest idea i hv ever heard... have u hear anything tt can travel 5000 miles an hour tt is commercially available??? the main problem is to find the vehicle and not the build the tunnel...

[America100000able]

@coconutesther

If you watch the other videos you would have learned that a Maglev can travel at this speed if it's uncapped, and if everything is set up right.

[propainish]

@coconutesther instead of using your teenage brain to come up with a solution, the other videos will explain that removing air resistance in a tunnel and putting maglev trains in it can have a huge speed potential. The train solution was perfected years ago, now they need to find a tunnel that can stretch out as far as the Atlantic ocean that is capable of harboring the tracks and trains and withstand any accidents.

[mo1elftausend]

Its good to have big visions. When humanity gets bored we can built this.

[Dontbechattincrap]

check out my blog, where I have written about this:

google my attempt at engineering in blogs

[MrVuHNguyen]

All it takes is a fire, an accident and the whole damn thing would become useless for months. Imagine being trapped under water for hours while waiting for rescue teams to reach you! glub, glub, glub....oxygen please....

[America100000able]

@MrVuHNguyen

This tunnel is airless. Fire can't start without oxygen, and I am sure any train derailment at this speed would be fatal, and no one would survive.

[MrVuHNguyen]

@America100000able

If the tunnel is airless, then it must be sealed tight, making it even more difficult to operate since passengers have to breath. Furthermore, the outside pressure is even more intense against the inner tube. Technically, it is possible to build it, but practicality, it will never be built.

[Kleavers]

@America100000able

That would be one interesting wreck though.

[badwolf66]

This helps deadly virus' spread faster into the population.

[MrEiriku]

@badwolf66 bitch

[badwolf66]

@MrEiriku Yeah...great response troll....

[OfficialLM21]

Like this if you're still watching this in 2011 :)

[Seacadetguy]

@OfficialLM21 I'm watching in 2012. your move.

[Nathan173AB]

Eliminate the artificial barrier of money, and it could be done. The Venus Project anyone?

[basswhore73]

@Nathan173AB exactly theres not enough people that have heard of the venus project, money is the true enemy and barrier to mankind achieving all that he could be

[phuturephunk]

Its a pretty awesome idea, unfortunately the recoup would be almost impossible on this. Combine that with the fact that only a certain minority of people would actually have to use the thing with any regularity and it becomes the Concorde part Deux, except its a high speed train in a tunnel traveling below the ocean surface. Forget about rescue operations due to failure.

[penitent2401]

train going 5000 miles per hour in year 2029... i want some of whatever those guys are smoking

[johnson1095]

@penitent2401

i think they said 2099

[America100000able]

@penitent2401

It's 2099 you dummy.

[DjFikus]

Just imagine how much this projekt will cost??. seriously why even consider something like this....

[johnson1095]

@DjFikus

Why did ppl consider having mass plane travel?

why did ppl go to the moon?

we do these things "Not because it is easy but becuase it is hard"- JFK

[jimmywrangles]

This is a silly idea and a huge waste of resources.

12 trillion dollars, no-one can afford that.

[penitent2401]

@jimmywrangles the world's GDP is around 65-70 trillion, we only need a couple billion people to starve to death then we'll have a tunnel that can move around (taking into estimation average 1000 people per train, 1 train per 2mins, a very bold estimate) 700,000 people moving back and forth in the tunnel per day, assuming the trains runs at peak capacity all day and with no gaps between trains. 200,000 is more likely . we'll also need to nuke all the whales in that ocean to protect the tunnel.

[gme104tube]

I will never ttravel in this either the bering strait is frikin scary anything could happend and I agreeeeeeeee a lot with @0519075130 people are mean they create things for a reason then what?? by the way build by human means is not perfect!

[TaffyAlpha]

12 trillion dollars? That's like bailing out wallstreet 13 times!

[gasattackmanliveca]

This is a fairly reasonable idea due to the fact that we could transport goods,fiber optic Internet and passengers at alarming speeds all over the world using the already existing train networks. This would revolutionize the way we live our lives and would produce thousands of jobs for many years and is good for the environment. The only issue is the initial and sustaining costs. I estimate the project to take about 30-70 years to complete so most of us will be fairly old or dead by the time th

[SpeedbeetleV2]

The tunnel idea is mind blowing. I hope I see it and the Bering Strait Bridge in my lifetime.

But where are we gonna get trains that go 5000 miles an hour? Maglevs perhaps?

[Nathan54AB]

This internet has probably rendered this project obsolete, but undoubtedly it could be done. It could be done well and without it being a drain on the rest of the world. We have the means, we just can't because of money. Just eliminate the middleman of money and it'll be well within reach.

[MacabreManifesto]

begin with the bering strait, then work your way up

[idahopioneer]

if we can bultthe chunnel, we can built the transalantic tunnel

[blaizevincent]

The idea that you could live on one side and work on the other is fantasy. Not because you couldnt travel but the cost of such a trip everyday would bankrupt you within a week.

Planes cost £300-£500 a ticket right now. And they dont cost that much to build and while fuel is expensive it still doesnt scratch the service for how much the tunnel will cost to run.

It's a great idea if the countries that build it decide to take a huge LOSS per ticket

[sheraw99]

@blaizevincent It might only cost the price of a bus or subway ticket since it transports so many each day.

[Cypher791]

tired of trying to smuggle yourself in a container or behind the wheels of a truck.. take the train... transatlantic tunnel.. immigration... made easy ; ]

[bbtvN]

This is impossible.

(my opinion)We may pay over $USD50,000 for each ride,cus it's much difficult to build than plane stuffs!

No really.

[pecfree]

HE SOUNDS LIKE THE HOMELESS WITH THE GOLDEN VOICE!!!! HAHAHA¬!!!!!

[discotheminecrafter]

It's crazy, it's long, and it's really, really expensive! But it's possible!!!

(I think we should just learn to Apparate first.)

[hastalavistababy45]

The U.S should pay of their debt before building this thing.  12 trillion dollars. I mean seriously. They should save this one for the year 3000.

[mackat4ck]

I can't help but be old fashioned and say that it would probably be cheaper and safer to build a quiet supersonic plane.

[MultiMoshimonsters]

technolgy and new stuff, Justin bieber and flying cars, lady gaga and video games. all of these things are not worth it to obsess for.

[Inmyownleague]

There are already secret undergroung military bases in the U.S . The U.S government have already got these technology's but are slowly wiring them out to the public.

Funny how our world in the last 60 years has evoled rapidly technology wise without us being told 100% on how we really got and new certain thing we just get convincing false stories. we will have this train one day but we will have lots of more things before that to make it possible to develop this.

[ambiva]

in 100 year we shall have warp drive and teleport

[xxwzaebd]

Thus, while this project is well fieasible from all aspects, it will increase dependance on China.

[xxwzaebd]

Well...The cost of this system would be trivial for China since it has over 2 trillion USD in forex reserves...but it would matter what they would be able to gain from such an investment..maybe rather geostrategical.

[ROCKSOLID19]

This tunnel can be done.

[Pilot853]

This design seems impressive, but its also the most impractical, unsafe, and unfeasable thing Ive ever heard of

[lalakers1984]

theres a better idea than this its called concorde bring it back

[johnson1095]

@lalakers1984

if you know a way to make that happen... be my guest.

it's not gonna happen unless you know ppl high up in government.

[andreastroelsgaard]

@lalakers1984 A journey in a concorde costs more than 10,000$... I'd rather travel in this tunnel!

[W0Wman1]

@andreastroelsgaard costs would be very high for this tunnel as well. When you consider the deficit the design teams and the investors would have to recover from, including construction, maintenance, anti-terrorist security, and resource usage, the ticket would be a lot more than $10K I assure you.

[ishotu747]

just imagine what the cost would be to ride the train

[ROCKSOLID19]

@ishotu747 I would imagine that this tunnel could be used for freight if magnetic levitation for freight is developed. Passenger travel would be expensive at first as it needs to be paid off. A £1,000 from London to New York is still cheaper than Concorde was.

[edastrong]

I wish he wouldn't call it the Chunnel in that serious tone...

[williamengbjerg]

Insane idea! - But I like it :-)

[RMJ1984]

Nice idea, but man oh man would it suck to crash in that thing, you wouldn survive long in a tunnel without air.

[tedman0674]

How expensive ist a ticket? 5000$? O_O

[PPiTTislakatamia]

huh.....global goverment...that is all about ...illuminati theory...

[MovieTrailerFanatic]

thanks for psting this series

[kami645464]

Could somebody tell me if it is even possible to travel at 5,000 mph?

[tedman0674]

@kami645464

in a vacuum

[kami645464]

@tedman0674 Today?

[tedman0674]

@kami645464

yes, you need magnetic monorail in a vacuum then you reach extremly high speed

[Afrocanuk]

Not worth the risk.

[TheFatalforce]

o it would be nice

but what next a britge to the moon??

[NickKoutonias]

@TheFatalforce

Not a bridge, an elevator actually :P

It's called the space elevator, look it up...

[elbowtido27]

I like the idea in the ET3 video. A cross of tubes through the US, and a tube that runs all the way up through Alaska, across the Bering Strait, down through India, and all the way through Europe to London. It'd hit more places and likely be cheaper, quicker, and easier to construct.

[stevolisa2004]

it will become a terrorist target,so this becomes a bad idea, to bad !

[raran44]

Can you imagine how the world would be if every project featured on Extreme Engineering became a Reality? They're kind of farfetched ideas....

[shattertheearth]

5000 mph?? That's ridiculous. I think 500 is more like it. It'd be for the many who don't want to fly

[konsit]

@shattertheearth No 5000mph is entirely possible. If you look up "Evacuated Tube Transport", you'll find some more scientifically descriptive videos.

Cheers!

[AlJalandhari]

New development: China are currently working on the Vacuum Trains being discussed in this documentary. Find out more in this fascinating article on high speed rail: ceasefiremagazine. co . uk/2010/09/science-china-train­­/

[LouistheHedgehog]

What about continental drift and earthquakes?

[chabi3000]

it would just need enough money and politic willing ! thats all !

[MarktheSharkSheehan]

The best route would be to go up Alaska to Russia Across Asia and Europe to England and THEN build a tunnel like this to link it back again. It's completely achievable and possibly economical to build the tunnel this way.

I fear today people are getting too used to the status quo and don't want change that improves our lives. Some risk is GOOD!

[arosta1]

@MarktheSharkSheehan I agree completeley. And most of it wouldn't even need to be underground saving hundreds of billions of dollars!

[joshmanligro]

it's too ambitious to build and to connect the two continents.but with the help of modern technology the too impossible will become possible.

[porsche187]

Cool Idea. But not gonna happen I don't think. Look at Amtrak in America!! Bankrupt, low ridership. I don't know that there is political will to force the idea and fund the project.

[ukandoittowithkandoo]

Now this would be some feat, it will never happen tho, 2 trillion i can put that money to better use why not put that back into the economy and shut up whining about the deficit. Or maybe use that to pay the finance charge? Ha Ha idiots oooh the transparency.

[geddoknecht]

@0519075130

i auch digga

[bittubutt]

@0519075130 you always think bad like this.....

[pimmagrimm]

@0519075130 Nah that'll be the FBI pretending its the middle easts fault

[ya2cin]

@0519075130 I doubt it would middleesterners, considering that muslims believe knowlodge is the key and one is always a student of life. If anyone were to "destroy" the tunnel it would be the militant jews and christains saying it defies laws of god.

[cruzte]

@ya2cin PFFFTTT whatever mate! keep dreaming

[psychoparatoxicity]

@R1DV4N91 lolz... that's what they really do..

[BooMers232]

@0519075130 that what my friends say when i tell them about this

[rock3tcat]

@0519075130

I bet you grammar very good English needs some work... xD

[LearnToReadTheKuran]

@0519075130

I bet some bad white people from Europe will kidnap the passengers and kill them all inside this tunnel !

[EduEnYT]

Maybe when we can build this tunnel we will not need it anymore

[smartbotX]

My opinion, i believe air travel is still the fastest least expensive and most effictive method to travel cross atlantic. If you build a tunnel you would spend a lot of investment just doing the research plus building the tunnel will cost another billion or even trillions of dolloars and also you need to consider mechanical problems in the future as the ocean is actually widening each year and lots more issues etc.

[myvideosshared]

several trillion to build and 100 years so its clear it will never be made

[rock3tcat]

@myvideosshared

Never say never m-eight.... A hundred years ago no one would have thought that within seconds you could order naked women from all around the world to appear on your desk. And in high quality!!!! :D

[hakankiller]

@rock3tcat Man you'r sooo right :D..

[stephencarlmurphy1]

STEPHEN CARL MURPHY

[denelson83]

Not possible. You see, the Atlantic Ocean is actually widening. A tunnel across the Atlantic Ocean would not be able to lengthen with the spreading of the sea floor at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

[Craigipedia]

the transatlantic tunnel has very little actual utility... it would be far better, less expensive, easier, and just as fast to just fly in space planes. The two engineering projects for Tokyo are way better. The sky city and the pyramid city have far more utility

[MrMitchy27]

@Craigipedia yeah i agree with you on that one, sub-orbital space planes or supersonic planes would be much better ... bring back the Concorde! lol

[lion08021989]

something to ponder on eh! But, i'm seriously still waiting for my flying car I made a down payment on last friday lol.

[lianghaochen]

a century to complete...holy sheet....

[qoohkLive7]

dam!

[cprich22]

Why don't they instead of building a tunle create a train that is capeable of travalinh underwater. A very streamlined nose a maglev perhaps. Less moving parts. With emergency explosive that would blow the clamps on the tracks if somthing went wrong and allow the train to float to the surface.

Got to be cheaper than 1 trillion usdollers!

[powpanda]

@cprich22 Because with the water resistance it will travel at most 50 mph. We already have submarines and they are not very fast. Water is much thicker than air see.

[gibb1991]

I think this will happen. A vacuum tunnel Maglev powered by electricity traveling at 5,000 mph? That would get enormous ridership. Chances are the benifits would outweigh the costs over time. Obviously this wouldn't be a government project, a private company would do everything.

[zerolionking]

i swear i wont take that train..so dangerous...

[gibb1991]

You're actually much more likely to die in a Trans-Atlantic Airliner crash than a Maglev crash.

[paddytheduck]

thair is more that one companey that can build this

[ejswe]

I dont think building a tunnel under the Atlantic will ever be done. Too high costs, too many problems, not useful enough.

On the other hand, building enclosed tunnels with high speed trains across Europe/Asia might happen.

[woodpod]

Whats wrong with taking a plane? Also, I wouldn't feel safe going through that thing. One tiny crack, and you're fucked.

[hop208]

Although I think this is awesome. I think it may be impossible. 1. Tectonic shifts would mean the tunnel would have to be lengthened over time. 2. The $Trillion+ pricetag would mean it would take forever to be profitable. 3. Any country or entity that gets into a conflict with the US/UK could drop a bomb on it in the ocean and pretty much destroy a centuries worth of work. The vacuum in the tunnel would allow the water to rush in so fast it would strip the tunnel inside. Cool idea though.

[Mmaesstrro]

Still, it seems to me that a supersonic aeroplane is more efficient than this tunnel. Capital costs are much less and we know that it works perfectly well.

[Denisu07]

1. the ocean ecosystem will be disturbed

2. the costs are too high (that money can be used in other ways)

3. one century is too long, the technology is changing so fast...

... but for our minds it's a good practice

[mittenzforevah999]

but then the have already started it. So nao wat?

[woodpod]

Because it costs so much, it would have to be thousands of dollars for people to use it. Its a crap idea. It would be cheaper to just improve aircraft.

[Trainlover4ever2006]

I don't believe that if is science fiction. I hope to be one of the first to try it out if it happens in my lifetime.

[Sanngot]

You should probably become a millionaire first then. Cause you can bet a ticket will be worth a small fortune. ;)

[chriswba05170]

What a waste of money.

I like the way they compare a train from 2099 to planes of today. Im guessing a plane of 2099 will get to the US in less than an hour.

[KAlSuloomi]

What a waste of money!!?

For how long do you think airplane can serve people from/to North and South America and Europe? 60 years? What after oil? What kind of transportation you will use similar speed to airplane!!!????

Do you think that can use a plane in 2099 After oil?

[chriswba05170]

Well being as they are already working on energy efficient hydrogen jest then yes.

I make the point that they compare just like you did then, trains 100 years in to the planes of today.

My guess is that planes will still be used in 100 years and will be quicker and more efficient than those of today.

[gibb1991]

I agree. Peak oil is expected to be reached around 2040, perhaps earlier. This is an electric Magnetic Levitation Train that would obviously be owned and operated by a private company (there's no way taxes would be used for this). This isn't just wanted, it's NEEDED.

[Welwyn22]

Planes will most likely be entirely obsolete by the 22nd Century

[chriswba05170]

Oh yeh, but this idea looks likely. not

[lvll138inrs]

um isnt it better to take a plane there? lol.

[manuelg27]

no, think about all the it takes for you to fly, and airport waiting... way too long. This would take an hour

[robnib1]

did you just watch this program. it takes an hour u nonce! listen to what their telling you. i hope you arnt in the construction industry. god help us all

[JointBuster]

no. plane is more expensive. you wanker

[gibb1991]

I think planes suck. Took a plane to Europe last year. It was miserable. Took a train while in Europe. Loved every second.

[ColdZer04]

This Engineering idea is possible, but I don't believe its the best idea in this world's current economic state. We could use those 3 trillion for something else. Such as health care, poverty, etc.

[Omid45]

look health care and poverty problems will always be around. they have their up and downs. Every person should work hard to make their own money and take care of themselves. If companies or the government wants to do a project that is better for everyone to travel, why should they pay that money to some lazy person that can't even take care of their own health needs. I'm not saying we should leave them to die, we should only help people with extreme needs, or handicap people.

[harrissaintgermain]

some people in other countries don't get an opportunity to have an education let alone go to collage and get a job, how are they supposed to get money?

[Omid45]

well, what does that have to do with the construction of this tunnel that will make life better for potentially billions of people around the world, and generations to come. People having problems should stand up for themselves, change their political system, and government, move out to a better country, many options are available, but all i'm saying is that we should give up on ideas like that just to put that money towards paying for health care, or poverty of a selected people.

[Ibanezium]

@Omid45 No social darwinism please.

[JMsoo]

just listen to the begging, trillions of dollars, almost a century of work in the most impossible condition... which company will invest money on it?

[gibb1991]

I've heard that there are several companies interested. Yes, it's a risk, but so was companies like Microsoft.

[vgmaster9]

Imagine seeing one of the trains derail XD.

[gibb1991]

These are actually Magnetic Levitation Trains that wrap around a guideway and float above it. It's nearly impossible for these trains to derail.

[phadil]

a prime vulnerable target for terrorist.

[cooliorox100]

totally futuristic, but i think it's somewhat possible.