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Comment by etaioinshrdlu | Hacker News Reader

I got a dumb idea. Permanently stationed blimps around the world that never land. And cable cars for moving between them, on pulleys.

Pros: Energy efficient: no need to generate lift. No need for fans to move the cars as you are on pulleys, which are more efficient. Minimal noise! You could go as fast as you want but your efficiency will start to drop due to drag.

It can't be any worse an idea than a hyperloop can it?

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Hyperloop tubes held aloft by blimps!

Awesome idea!!!

Sounds like they would need to keep the same position.

Would that be practical for such a large, light ship that can not avoid the weather?

Yes... They may have to be grounded occasionally during extreme weather.

But they can be tethered to the ground and use the tether for power for maneuvering with electric props.

There is not much weather high enough. drag on the cables due to wind would be the primary concern.

Let's just make orbital lifts while we're at it.

If you're going to do that, you could probably use towers instead of blimps.

Wouldn't that be like a train? Maybe cheaper. A long cable would weigh a lot?

Yes kind of like a train but without disrupting the land below so much. Maybe much faster to install too.

> Yes kind of like a train but without disrupting the land below so much.

...or the ocean below. If the blimps can be grounded to ships, the ocean floor or don't need grounding, this could be a realistic way of building bridges across the oceans.

A movable bridge which hangs in the air :-)

Floating bridges sound a lot easier and less dangerous.

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