Elevator to the stars

[/)eathKiller]

and what do you think would happen if terrorists downed that mighty elevator? Or if a mechanical malfunction brought it down? What we'd be talking about is absolute decimation of thousands of miles of the earth followed by further destruction as if a large whip had cracked itself against the surface. It doesn't take a genius to calculate the death tolls if such a thing were built and fell over!

[wellard]

Bottom line IMHO is that if this is as imaginitive as they can get with this sort of technology they do not deserve any funding at all. Surely there are university's in the USA that deal in this sort of science that are screaming for funding.

Phew, I think I've calmed down now

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[Ziroc]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: Of course the fact that the moon rotate round the Earth will mean the access point to the elevator would constantly be moving. This sounds like GARBAGE to me. Even if feasible - who'd use it? Can you imagine being 29kilometers up and pushing the "emergency" button.

I was thinking the same thing. The orbits change distance, so this idea is complete BS.

The Idea is cool, but there are many materials advancements that need to be made yet. Carbon Nanotubes haven't been used to construct anything of size yet, and that trick won't be easy to solve.

I think Arthur C Clark wrote about an elevator to orbit and I know Heinlein had one in his Novel "Friday" (Which I really liked, along with the Number of the Beast)

Edit: And the Idea is an elevator to geosynchronous orbit and not to the moon. You would anchor the other end to a station or small asteroid that would be put into orbit roughly 23,000 miles up.

Edit to my Edit: Talk about a Navigation hazard...and I will bet the enviro types will find a thousand reasons why it would be bad because it blocked the flight path of the then endanged flying leatherbacked spotted finch.

[ 02-05-2003, 07:51 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[WillowIX]

Originally posted by Gabrielles blades: how would it help those industries? all of their work is done on earth no? and as for ending world hunger, it would cost trillions to give the moon the facilities or atmosphere etc to make a working farm; you may as well just make a really big boat and have your farms in the ocean if your out of space on land.

How it would help industry? I can of course only answer for the medical industry, but easy access to low gravity environment would be a medical breakthrough as large as vaccination! In space it is possible to make precise and perfect crystals of proteins, most importantly enzymes. We would then have a greater understanding of the biochemical reactions, viral and bacteria invasion etc. This would definitely make it easier for researchers to develop cures for AIDS (and every other viral disease), cancer etc.

I have no idea if the project is feasible, teh article is a bit one-sided. But it sounds intriguing.

[Sir Krustin]

Beanstalk technology is old hat in science fiction, and it's great idea. Unfortunately, as has already been covered, only a very few hypothetical construction materials have been found to be strong enough to support such an idea.

And, Gabrielles, there is something interesting on the moon - lots and lots of bauxite - that's the raw material which aluminum is made from, and aluminum is very much in demand in industry.

The combination of low G and no native lifeforms or ecology to worry about also make it an ideal environment to place manufacturing facilities.

If you've ever lived in a big city downwind from a manufacturing plant, you can easily see how it would be desirable to place industry OFF PLANET.

DK, you're absolutely right, a beanstalk failure would catastrophic and very pyrotechnic, the energy release would be, well, gigeresque. Terrorist activity would be a very real concern. I think the first proof of concept would be a skyhook, not a true beanstalk which would offer considerably less risk for almost as much payoff.

edit>spelling

[ 02-05-2003, 10:27 PM: Message edited by: Sir Krustin ]