THE QUEST FOR SPEED

In the the broad context of the universe man is simplicity in every thing he says and does and his focus swings like a pendulum eluding the dawn of doom by pointing to the light of heaven and quietly seeking answers in the simpleness of all things.
In an atomic ocean of rapidly moving particles,he walks about slowly drinking from a cup half-empty while re-engineering these particles meticulously into cities and skyscrapers only to have them reclaimed by the uncontrollable forces of nature.
Man's journey is a never ending quest where knowledge is sought and felt but is sometimes lost and wept for.
In a world where commerce is built upon the speed of computer chips and large servers,assembly line robots,oil pipelines,satellite signals,and cell phone calls from one end of the world to another; speed is a main ingredient of human progress and always will be.The light bulb and the telephone replaced the slower gas lamps and Morse code but neither one would be effective without a workable distribution network. Computer chip capacity has become the measuring stick of human progress and is often credited with doubling human knowledge every two to three months. Millions of transistors are contained within a chip the size of a thumbnail. Without these chips it would be impossible to perform the superhuman feats we take for granted daily such completing a stock or commodity purchase in a split second.In a split second someone changes a channel on his cable TV with the click of a remote channel controller or buys a pizza with his Android phone.Thousands of radio and television signals form a global communications network.The speed of networks has unparalleled influence on the production and distribution of energy.Rapid speed in the rate of energy distribution is needed everywhere and not in just designated areas.The world of the super fast communications networks,cell phones,supercities,and stealth aircraft are unsustainable without thriving networks of alternative energy .All of wonderful things we purchase and prize so dearly are fueled electricity,ethanol, or some form of energy that is being quickly consumed and slowly replenished.The rapid movement of clusters of active people is vital and very significant to the economic and social development of any civilized area of society.Rapid transit is deemed too expensive by some cities and states and yet the long range benefits seem to outweigh whatever doubt or hesitant thoughts we may have.The number of countries now using rapid transit systems is multiplying by the dozens with Spain,China and Italy making surprising strides in this area.The USA is now beginning to see the long term benefits of moving massive numbers of people quickly and safely as many states have adopted measures to support establishment of high speed rail as well as electric cars and hybrid fueled vehicles that run in high speed HOV lanes and highways similar to the Autobahn in Germany. China has even designed and produced a solar powered version of the high speed train system which converts the sun into enough energy to actually power the train and it is impressive.The networks of fast moving trains often mean food and supplies to a large city will be there on time regardless of a fossil fuel shortage and commuters can get to work even if its a thousand mile daily commute.For a planet of about 6 billion people there is going to be a bottleneck in the distribution of food ,fuel,and resources.As more and more countries begin to modernize and retool their cities with fuel consuming machinery, the problem of enough resources could become overwhelming.A network of fast moving trains may not solve all of these problems but like cable television,smart phones,and Dr. William Shockley's computer chip this network should make things a lot better for some and certainly better for all.

The number of high speed rail lines in the world
Operational Under Construction
China 4,840 15,478
Spain 1,963 1,781
Japan 1,906 590
France 1,874 234
Germany 1,032 378
Italy 923 92
Taiwan 345
S.Korea 330
Turkey 235 510
Belgium 209
Netherlands120
G.Britain 113
Switzerland 35 7