Space elevators?!?

It is not a matter of current materials.

It is a matter of basic physics, as has been widely publicised for two centuries. A conductor moving in a magnetic field enjoys a back torque.

The back torque brakes the moving conductor. Is there a bushman so dumb that he does not know this?

The moving conductor, the orbit elevator tether, would be braked from the first second, and so would retard the entire orbit elevator assembly so as to reduce its orbit velocity to zero and send it falling upon the hapless earth below.

There will never be any Hilton ledges on the orbit elevator, no whatevever suites, because there will never be any orbit elevator except for the one braked to an instant stop and falling upon the helpless citizens of the planet below.

There will be criminal charges against anyone presently instigating such a scenario.

And criminal fraud charges against anyone who invited investment into such an truly absurd scheme.

 

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A simple refrigerator magnet is 50 G. The earth's magnetic field is 0.5 G (g standing for gausse (source)
Really the magnetic field isn't that much of a problem even the plasma flows that move along to magnetic field are a far larger concern then the magnetic field itself

Many things would create a "back torque" however the cable will always be stressed and the compensation energys would come from the earth angelur momentum... It simply can't stop unless it get's loose from the earth or the earth stop spinning(source)

pleace not that the cable would be static with the earths surface so your moving conductor wreally is the same like for example the power grid network

 

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Try this link;
http://www.isr.us/SEScienceFAQs.asp#6

My bolding.

and this one
http://isr.us/spaceelevatorconferen...ons/TetherTechnology/Final Spadaro_SE2004.ppt

Interesting stuff.

 

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Interesting. I read awhile ago that carbon nanotubes may not have the necessary tensile strength (per weight). Is there any more recent info on this?

 

I don't really have a proper source with exact data but it rather depends, anyway where net there for a earth tether but no revulutionairy new technologies have to be invented to build one for earth.

For the moon however you can get away with kevlar (because the lower gravity) and it would only take a launch weight from earth of 6100 tons... (that's a lot) But aperently you would get a desend return from this

As of yet it would also be impossible to build one on Mars, considering martian GEO is around half the distance then in earths case (so the elevator only has to be half as long) and there is only 38% gravity were proberly pretty close to reaching this but it tells a lot abouth any potential terran space elevator

17,000 km 35,786 km

 

A couple of links to data about defects and the effects on strength;
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technovel_nanotubes_060602.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_nanotube#Defects
http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=PRBMDO000070000024245416000001

if it were possible to make these tubes without flaws they would be easily strong enough to support an elevator. Unfortunately that may be difficult.

 

So what are the changes that we could develop and build a space elevator in 2025
link

 

It is an unremitting delight to see that you have lost none of your confident stupidity. :shrug:

 

CANGAS has gone. Why are you looking for the gone among the remaining?

 

I didn't notice the date of his post. Orcot's resurrection of his own thread fooled me into thinking the posts were current.

 

this was actualy his last post according to the history files.

Annyway I revived this threat afther a rougly a year because I tought there was actually something new and interesting to post.

For a space elevator to hold it's own weights it should have a minimum tensile strenghts of 65 Gpa
Today's we could (probably) produce this. (but it would be yust capable to hold itself and could therefore carry little or no cargo)