Check this out - a space elevator

[Dawg]

Interesting article:

Space Elevator

I am
Dawg

[thomas7g]

I've seen this several times in scifi.

But one great big worry...what if something as tall as that falls down?

[Muffit]

Really cool, thanks Dawg!

[amberstar]

Thanks Dawg! Real life Scifi, I love the idea!

[BST]

Science Fiction becoming Science Fact?

I read Fountains of Paradise years ago and really enjoyed it. I can't remember much of the story (memory fails, old age, etc) but Clarke wrote about this very thing. I particularly liked his comment, in the interview, when he said, "...they'll build it 10 years after everyone stops laughing." That's true about so many things touched on in the 'science fiction' world.

*devil's advocate pops in:

I don't know if I like the idea or not. If we commit too many resources to it, that may prevent research on other more practical things such as, faster, lighter, more durable launch vehicles, etc.*

*tells devil's advocate to sit down and be quiet!*

It definitely is interesting!

Thanks for sharing this Dawg!

BST

[repcisg]

Next thing you know they will be calling for volenteers to colonize Mars or something.

If man were ment to fly he would have wings, no wait, we make those don't we.

[LucianG]

But one great big worry...what if something as tall as that falls down?

Good question, and it would be a reason that many people would oppose the idea; however, the central idea is that the platform at the top is in orbit so it won't fall without being pushed out of orbit. The 'tether' snapping (or being snapped by terrorists) would be the real concern, so we'd probably want to put it on a remote island on or very near the equator.

[Senmut]

Colonize Mars? Where do I sign up?

[Proximo]

There's actually a very good example of what would happen if something like that fell down in the book Green Mars. I thinkit's Green Mars. One of the Mars books anyway. The end-point of the elevator detached and the tether fell down, wrapped itself around Mars three times and squished everything in the way. Pretty nasty. If such a thing were to happen on earth it would kill millions... however, if you could guarantee that a collapse would be deflected off in to space somehow, it'd be quite nifty.

[BST]

Found another article:

Jun 25, 5:05 PM EDT

Scientist Sees Space Elevator in 15 Years

By CARL HARTMAN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush wants to return to the moon and put a man on Mars. But scientist Bradley C. Edwards has an idea that's really out of this world: an elevator that climbs 62,000 miles into space.

Edwards thinks an initial version could be operating in 15 years, a year earlier than Bush's 2020 timetable for a return to the moon. He pegs the cost at $10 billion, a pittance compared with other space endeavors.

"It's not new physics - nothing new has to be discovered, nothing new has to be invented from scratch," he says. "If there are delays in budget or delays in whatever, it could stretch, but 15 years is a realistic estimate for when we could have one up."

Edwards is not just some guy with an idea. He's head of the space elevator project at the Institute for Scientific Research in Fairmont, W.Va. NASA already has given it more than $500,000 to study the idea, and Congress has earmarked $2.5 million more.

"A lot of people at NASA are excited about the idea," said Robert Casanova, director of the NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts in Atlanta.

Edwards believes a space elevator offers a cheaper, safer form of space travel that eventually could be used to carry explorers to the planets.

Edwards' elevator would climb on a cable made of nanotubes - tiny bundles of carbon atoms many times stronger than steel. The cable would be about three feet wide and thinner than a piece of paper, but capable of supporting a payload up to 13 tons.

The cable would be attached to a platform on the equator, off the Pacific coast of South America where winds are calm, weather is good and commercial airplane flights are few. The platform would be mobile so the cable could be moved to get out of the path of orbiting satellites.

David Brin, a science-fiction writer who formerly taught physics at San Diego State University, believes the concept is solid but doubts such an elevator could be operating by 2019.

"I have no doubt that our great-grandchildren will routinely use space elevators," he said. "But it will take another generation to gather the technologies needed."

Edwards' institute is holding a third annual conference on space elevators in Washington starting Monday. A keynote speaker at the three-day meeting will be John Mankins, NASA's manager of human and robotics technology. Organizers say it will discuss technical challenges and solutions and the economic feasibility of the elevator proposal.

The space elevator is not a new idea. A Russian scientist, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, envisioned it a century ago. And Arthur C. Clarke's novel "The Foundations of Paradise," published in 1979, talks of a space elevator 24,000 miles high, and permanent colonies on the moon, Mercury and Mars.

The difference now, Edwards said, is "we have a material that we can use to actually build it."

He envisions launching sections of cable into space on rockets. A "climber" - his version of an elevator car - would then be attached to the cable and used to add more lengths of cable until eventually it stretches down to the Earth. A counterweight would be attached to the end in space.

Edwards likens the design to "spinning a ball on a string around your head." The string is the cable and the ball on the end is a counterweight. The Earth's rotation would keep the cable taut.

The elevator would be powered by photo cells that convert light into electricity. A laser attached to the platform could be aimed at the elevator to deliver the light, Edwards said.

Edwards said he probably needs about two more years of development on the carbon nanotubes to obtain the strength needed. After that, he believes work on the project can begin.

"The major obstacle is probably just politics or funding and those two are the same thing," he said. "The technical, I don't think that's really an issue anymore."

---

On the Net:

Institute for Scientific Research: http://isr.us/Spaceelevatorconference

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov

Video available at: http://wid.ap.org/video/video/elevator.rm

[thomas7g]

Wouldn't weather be a problem?

I think its a great idea but I would be worried about a structural failure. A solid object that big falling would be nasty. I can imagine that any kind of elevator tube would spur alot of people to live around it. I still recall seeing that high school film of a bridge wobbling till it collapsed.

But if they CAN do it... that would be incredible.

[amberstar]

Edwards is not just some guy with an idea. He's head of the space elevator project at the Institute for Scientific Research in Fairmont, W.Va. NASA already has given it more than $500,000 to study the idea, and Congress has earmarked $2.5 million more.

Fairmont WVA hua...........I know exactly where that is

I think that is a great idea, if it is really possible.

[thomas7g]

"west Virginia... Mountain mama... Take me home... County Roads....."

[amberstar]

Originally Posted by thomas7g

"west Virginia... Mountain mama... Take me home... County Roads....."

LOL Tom............Gota love John Denver!

[BST]

Originally Posted by amberstar

LOL Tom............Gota love John Denver!

Yep!

Little story -

In the fall of 1980, WVU opened a brand new football stadium and to help christen it properly, brought in John Denver to sing "Country Roads". We, all, saw the helicopter carrying him, as it landed just outside the stadium, and when he walked out onto the field, the place went wild. He started singing but, after "Almost Heaven.......", wound up leading a sing-along of over 60,000 voices strong!

Absolutely Perfect!!

[shiningstar]

Originally Posted by Dawg

Interesting article:

Space Elevator

I am
Dawg

Do you have a new link? This one isn't working

[BST]

Shiningstar,

Check this link:

Space Elevator

[shiningstar]

Originally Posted by BST

Shiningstar,

Check this link:

Space Elevator

Thanks Bst. You're link worked.

A space elevator is feasible ............but they would also have to consider on
WHERE to build it and if it would stay stable in earthquakes, tornadoes and
hurricanes as well as sand storms.

This seems to me very much like the tower of Babal .............If memory
serves from my bible stories ..........that one failed.

[bsg1fan1975]

good idea but in todays world or tommorrow's with all the uncertainty it'll never get done!