During the speed up phase, I know the change in velocity is from 0 to 170 m/s. However, I don't know the change in time. But don't worry, we can get this from the definition of the average velocity—which is a measure of the rate that the position changes (in one dimension). I know the change in position (0.6 km) and I also know the average velocity is going to be 85 m/s (0 m/s plus 170 m/s divided by two). That means the time to get up to speed has to be 7.06 seconds (and then another 7.06 seconds to stop). With this time, I can now calculate the acceleration to have a value of (170 m/s)/(7.06 s) = 24 m/s2.

LEARN MORE The WIRED Guide to Hyperloop

Is that a reasonable acceleration? Well, it's a little bit on the high side. Just consider this: If you took a bowling ball and dropped it off a building, it would accelerate downward with a value of 9.8 m/s2. This value is an important reference (also because of the way you feel on the surface of the Earth). We call this acceleration 1 "g". That means the hyperloop would accelerate at 2.4 g's.

If you accelerated in your car as fast as possible, you would be lucky to get an acceleration of 1 g. Or if you took your vintage Space Shuttle for a launch, you might get 3 g's or even higher, but not for very long.

So, if I had to guess, then this hyperloop test is just that—a test. Although a human can withstand 2.4 g's, there is no way a human could be expected to withstand that kind of acceleration while still playing on a smart phone or drinking a cocktail and eating peanuts.

Update: 7:30 pm Eastern 4/10/18 This story originally calculated the acceleration of a hyperloop pod to the speed of sound, not half the speed of sound.