Stratram would need to overcome a lot of challenges, particularly if squishy humans were among the things being transported into space: the track would need to be around 1, 000 miles long to avoid the kind of instant acceleration that could crush a human, and the train would need a low-pressure vacuum tube to travel through.

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The atoms in question were stripped of their outer electrons and trapped in an electric field, in a vacuum, at extremely low temperatures.

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Left in this vacuum most donors have settled on low administrative overhead as the barometer to determine the proficiency of an organization.

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And then at his restaurant, Tremont 647, he turns around and serves tasting menus of dishes like "smoke-vide" beef ribs a preparation that combines smoking with the sous-vide method of cooking vacuum-sealed food in a low-temperature water bath and smoked duck-confit po'boys.

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Both involve heating organic materials in a vacuum until they break down into carbon and vapors that can be condensed into a low-grade fuel oil.

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