How long would it take to get to space?
What are they going to mount it on?
It's probably going to fuck up our rotational time.
But what could go wrong?
[QUOTE=alexk;18822679]How long would it take to get to space?
What are they going to mount it on?
It's probably going to fuck up our rotational time.
But what could go wrong?[/QUOTE]
1. Few hours I suppose?
2. Probably nothing because it would put more tension on the cable, which would be bad.
3. Yes I'm sure 59,742,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg (mass of earth) will be thrown off by 40,642 kg (maximum legal mass of an 18 wheeler in the USA)
Hobby scientist/politicians/know-it-alls - unite!
Even if it did work, I would never...ever...EVER go in that fucking thing.
[QUOTE=faze;18817977]Read this:
[url]http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question12158.html[/url]
The whole thing is ~250 miles, but the part we consider the atmosphere is just under 20 miles thick. The rest, shit can orbit in.[/QUOTE]
Even the ISS experiences atmospheric drag at it's altitude, and regularly needs to fire thrusters (Usually from a docked shuttle) to maintain it's orbit
[QUOTE=Kybalt;18822912]1. Few hours I suppose?
3. Yes I'm sure 59,742,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg (mass of earth) will be thrown off by 40,642 kg (maximum legal mass of an 18 wheeler in the USA)[/QUOTE]
Somehow I'm guessing a space elevator weigh a hell of a lot more than an 18 wheeler.
[QUOTE=Split3ndz;18817463]I just have a really bad feeling that when they build one of these things it's going to fall back to earth catastrophically.[/QUOTE]
It wouldn't. If you sever a space elevator near the base, the top would be pulled out into space (the counterweight would fly away).
If you sever it near the middle or higher... well, same deal, top flies away, but this time the difference is there's still the bottom which is attached to Earth, and yes, it would come down again.
However the materials needed to build these things are like tiny ribbons, and they're not very dense at all (something like a kilogram per kilometer (or a gram per metre). The fact that it's like ribbon (has a 'flat' side) and has a minuscule density means that it'd fall more lightly than a feather.
Also, I still can't get over Japan wanting their own space elevator in their own country. That place is a geographical nightmare. The terrain is fucking horrendous, the place is a tectonic time bomb waiting to explode, and it's constantly being bombarded with cyclones. Japan is literally the LAST place on Earth that you'd want to stick a space elevator (plus, it's not even near the equator).
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;18817380]Sounds like a waste of time and money.[/QUOTE]
Reducing the price/pound of taking material to space (currently the price of gold, around $1,100) to about $1?
Waste of time and money?
If it was severed at the station, the cable would kind of curl around the Earth as it rotates. There wouldn't be enough substance to the cable to cause damage, but you would literally have a continuous object running all the way around the world...two or more times. That could be inconvenient.
[editline]01:40AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=nERVEcenter;18829676]Reducing the price/pound of taking material to space (currently the price of gold, around $1,100) to about $1?
Waste of time and money?[/QUOTE]
I think that's actually a very optimistic figure, actual Shuttle launch payload costs run somewhere between $15k and $20k a pound.
Could they launch a spacecraft from it? Would probably save a lot of fuel and time doing that.
I personally think that making space travel feasible is far more important than the money it would cost to do so. If something like this would be built in our generation, they could be transforming mars a generation or two after us.
Besides, with satellite launching being that expensive, this seems like a good investment.
[editline]08:27AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;18829698]but you would literally have a continuous object running all the way around the world...two or more times. That could be inconvenient.
[/QUOTE]
Somebody should build a massive retracting machine for when that happens :p
[QUOTE=Wii60;18817425]sounds like a horror movie
IN THE FUTURE, WHERE EVERYONE USES SPACE ELEVATORS, ONE GROUP WON'T BE SO LUCKY.
*elevator shuts down*
"oh god we are stuck in space in a elevator"
"SPACE ELEVATORS"
*Serial killer shown*[/QUOTE]
I would see that.
I just got reminded of one of the Halo books
[QUOTE=Wii60;18817425]sounds like a horror movie
IN THE FUTURE, WHERE EVERYONE USES SPACE ELEVATORS, ONE GROUP WON'T BE SO LUCKY.
*elevator shuts down*
"oh god we are stuck in space in a elevator"
"SPACE ELEVATORS"
*Serial killer shown*[/QUOTE]
There's already a leaked script for number 2!
[quote=21st Century FOX]Space elevator 2;
FLEEING THE SPACE ELEVATOR, TOM AND JESSY HEAD TO THE ONLY PLACE THEY KNOW IS SAFE...
THE INSIDE OF THE SUPERCOLLIDER!
"Oh god we're stuck in a supercollider!"
"FAILBLOG"
*Stupid scientist spills coffee on controls*[/quote]
Anyway, I think it'll work, but I'm too scared to ride in that thing.
Due to the two movies out on it.
[editline]01:13PM[/editline]
No one learned anything from this level, did they?
[media]http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/halo/images/thumb/1/1e/Elevator_standing.png/718px-Elevator_standing.png[/media]
If the ribbon was cut near the base, nothing catastrophic would happen instantly. The counterweight would remain in geosynchronous orbit with the elevator dangling by the ribbon. Gravity would pull on the elevator, and then the elevator would pull on the counterweight with a force dependent on it's altitude. So it would all fall back to earth eventually, but it could take a lot of time depending on the altitude of the elevator at the time the ribbon is cut.
Think about it.
edit:
The real problem I see with the concept of a space elevator is how to cancel out the effect of gravity on the elevator dangling from the counterweight, and also keeping the cable taught without constant reboosting is a problem I can't figure out.
This will be interesting, would be a long lift journey though.
[editline]11:47AM[/editline]
ps
Facepunch don't believe in anything do they?
[QUOTE=tjl;18831201]If the ribbon was cut near the base, nothing catastrophic would happen instantly. The counterweight would remain in geosynchronous orbit with the elevator dangling by the ribbon. Gravity would pull on the elevator, and then the elevator would pull on the counterweight with a force dependent on it's altitude. So it would all fall back to earth eventually, but it could take a lot of time depending on the altitude of the elevator at the time the ribbon is cut.
Think about it.
edit:
The real problem I see with the concept of a space elevator is how to cancel out the effect of gravity on the elevator dangling from the counterweight, and also keeping the cable taught without constant reboosting is a problem I can't figure out.[/QUOTE]
The counterweight isn't in geosynchronous orbit, it's out past it, and centrifugal force keeps the cable taut. If it were severed on the ground, the counterweight would be launched out into space. The station attached to the cable would be in geosynchronous, and if they were smart they'd have a means to cut the counterweight loose as soon as they lost connection with the ground, thus leaving them in a relatively stable orbit.
Geosynchronous orbit is at roughly 35,000 kilometres; they'll need a fuckton of carbon nanotubes to reach all the way up there. But still ... imagine being at the top ... and looking down.
[QUOTE=faze;18817977]Read this:
[url]http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question12158.html[/url]
The whole thing is ~250 miles, but the part we consider the atmosphere is just under 20 miles thick. The rest, shit can orbit in.[/QUOTE]
You are dumb. Athmosphere ends at about 500 km, and the ISS is flying inside the athmosphere. It's just so thin that you won't notice it.
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;18835851]Geosynchronous orbit is at roughly 35,000 kilometres; they'll need a fuckton of carbon nanotubes to reach all the way up there. But still ... imagine being at the top ... and looking down.[/QUOTE]
Up there the term 'down' would lose all meaning. Hell, so would 'up there'.
[quote=wii60;18817425]sounds like a horror movie
in the future, where everyone uses space elevators, one group won't be so lucky.
*elevator shuts down*
"oh god we are stuck in space in a elevator"
"space elevators"
*serial killer shown*[/quote]
where in space, no one can will hear you die.
[QUOTE=Swebonny;18818007]You can't orbit above 20 miles.[/QUOTE]
What's the moon doing?
This is a gigantic waste of time and money compared to other things America could be spending it on
Why is it a waste of money, the space elevator will make harvesting helium 3 an affordable task, and helium 3 is a strong candidate to solving the global energy crisis.
A. they don't even know if it will work
B. you have issues such as health care, a fucking recession, some armed conflicts
it's just a pipe dream best left untouched for another hundred years or so when countries can actually afford it
I know! Lets ask Bill Gates!
I'm sure he will agree as long as we put the Microsoft logo on the elevator
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think that it is only the USA that are funding / building the space elevator.
[QUOTE=Frankiscool!;18817865]...yea but what keeps the stuff in orbit from being pulled back?[/QUOTE]
Oh my god read the fucking article.
[QUOTE=DeadorK;18852108]A. they don't even know if it will work
B. you have issues such as health care, a fucking recession, some armed conflicts
it's just a pipe dream best left untouched for another hundred years or so when countries can actually afford it[/QUOTE]
$20 billion is not very expensive, and existing problems are never a good justification for failing to pursue progress. We had massive civil unrest and a war on when we landed on the moon.
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;18856028]$20 billion is not very expensive, and existing problems are never a good justification for failing to pursue progress. We had massive civil unrest and a war on when we landed on the moon.[/QUOTE]
War itself always fuels technological progress, though... unfortunately.
It's sad that we can't simply progress until we need new ways to kill some other people.
this has been posted before (by some faggot)
but i have a better version
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZAHq_QADog[/media]
do not want
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