Posted October 3, 200816 yr http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/WORLD/europe/10/02/space.elevator/art.nasa.jpg LONDON, England (CNN) -- A new space race is officially underway, and this one should have the sci-fi geeks salivating. Lift to space: This is a NASA interpretation of what a space elevator may look like. The project is a "space elevator," and some experts now believe the concept is well within the bounds of possibility -- maybe even within our lifetimes. A conference discussing developments in space elevator concepts is being held in Japan in November, and hundreds of engineers and scientists from Asia, Europe and the Americas are working to design the only lift that will take you directly to the one hundred-thousandth floor. Despite these developments, you could be excused for thinking it all sounds a little far-fetched. Indeed, if successfully built, the space elevator would be an unprecedented feat of human engineering. A cable anchored to the Earth's surface, reaching tens of thousands of kilometers into space balanced with a counterweight attached at the other end is the basic design for the elevator. Don't Miss Training for space travel Astronaut teachers The Spirit Of It is thought that inertia -- the physics theory stating that matter retains its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force -- will cause the cable to stay stretched taut, allowing the elevator to sit in geostationary orbit. The cable would extend into the sky, eventually reaching a satellite docking station orbiting in space. Engineers hope the elevator will transport people and objects into space, and there have even been suggestions that it could be used to dispose of nuclear waste. Another proposed idea is to use the elevator to place solar panels in space to provide power for homes on Earth. If it sounds like the stuff of fiction, maybe that's because it once was. In 1979, Arthur C. Clarke's novel "The Fountains of Paradise" first brought the idea of a space elevator to a mass audience. Charles Sheffield's "The Web Between the Worlds" also featured the building of a space elevator. But, jump out of the storybooks, fast-forward nearly three decades and Japanese scientists at the Japan Space Elevator Association (JSEA) are working seriously on the space-elevator project. JSEA spokesman Akira Tsuchida told CNN his organization was working with U.S.-based Spaceward Foundation and a European organization based in Luxembourg, to develop an elevator design. The Liftport Group in the U.S. is also working on developing a design, and in total it's believed over 300 scientists and engineers are engaged in such work around the globe. NASA is also holding a $4 million Space Elevator Challenge to encourage designs for a space elevator than can work. Tsuchida said the technology driving the race to build the first space elevator is the quickly developing material carbon nanotube. It is lightweight and has a tensile strength 180 times stronger than steel cable. Currently, it is the only material with the potential to be strong enough to use to manufacture elevator cable, according to Tsuchida. "At present we have a tether which is made of carbon nanotube, and has one third or one quarter of the strength required to make a space elevator. We expect that we will have strong enough cable in the 2020s or 2030s," Tsuchida said. He said the most likely method of powering the elevator would be through the carbon nanotube cable. So, what are the major logistical issues keeping the space elevator from being anything more than a dream at present? Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Aeronautics and Astronautics Professor, Jeff Hoffman, said designing the carbon nanotube appeared to be the biggest obstacle. "We are now on the verge of having material that has the strength to span the 30,000 km ... but we don't have the ability to make long cable out of the carbon nanotubes at the moment." he said. "Although I'm confident that within a reasonable amount of time we will be able to do this." Tsuchida said one of the biggest challenges will be acquiring funding to move the projects forward. At present there is no financial backing for the space elevator project and all of JSEA's 100-plus members maintain other jobs to earn a living. "Because we don't have a material which has enough strength to construct space elevator yet, it is difficult to change people's mind so they believe that it can be real," he said. Hoffman feels international dialogue needs to be encouaraged on the issue. He said a number of legal considerations also would have to be taken into account. "This is not something one nation or one company can do. There needs to be a worldwide approach," he said. Other difficulties for space-elevator projects include how to build the base for the elevator, how to design it, and where to set up the operation. Tsuchida said some possible locations for an elevator include the South China Sea, western Australia, and the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. He said all of those locations usually avoided typhoons, which could pose a threat to the safety of an elevator. "As the base of space elevator will be located on geosynchronous orbit, [the] space elevator ground station should be located near the Equator," he said. While JSEA has set a time frame of the 2030s to get a space elevator under construction -- and developments are moving quickly -- Hoffman acknowledges it could be a little further away than that. "I don't know if it's going to be in our lifetime or if it's 100 or 200 years away, but it's near enough that we can contemplate how it will work." Building a space elevator is a matter of when, not if, said Hoffman, who believes it will herald a major new period in human history. "It will be revolutionary for human technology, and not just for space travel. That's why so many people are pursuing it," he said. "This is what it will take to turn humans into a space-bearing species."
October 3, 200816 yr they must have forgot something THE FUCKING EARTH IS NOT STATIONARY, IT SPINS MOTHER FUCKER
October 3, 200816 yr Author SourceX;587971']they must have forgot something THE FUCKING EARTH IS NOT STATIONARY, IT SPINS MOTHER FUCKER thats what i was thinking...:O_o:
October 3, 200816 yr SourceX;587971']they must have forgot something THE FUCKING EARTH IS NOT STATIONARY, IT SPINS MOTHER FUCKER And so is everything on it, including the elevator if they build it.
October 3, 200816 yr SourceX;587971']they must have forgot something THE FUCKING EARTH IS NOT STATIONARY, IT SPINS MOTHER FUCKER It is thought that inertia -- the physics theory stating that matter retains its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force -- will cause the cable to stay stretched taut, allowing the elevator to sit in geostationary orbit.
October 4, 200816 yr SourceX;587971']they must have forgot something THE FUCKING EARTH IS NOT STATIONARY, IT SPINS MOTHER FUCKER come on source i thought you were smarter than that lol
October 4, 200816 yr It is thought that inertia -- the physics theory stating that matter retains its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force -- will cause the cable to stay stretched taut, allowing the elevator to sit in geostationary orbit. http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5899/mynigga1hl5.jpg
October 4, 200816 yr We should turn this thread into something more constructive. I suggest flaming theMinkey for being a virgin.
October 6, 200816 yr It is thought that inertia -- the physics theory stating that matter retains its velocity along a straight line so long as it is not acted upon by an external force -- will cause the cable to stay stretched taut, allowing the elevator to sit in geostationary orbit. Okay, so am i the only one that sees the FORCE OF GRAVITY ANYMORE? SEIROUSLY. just because the big fucking space station isn't affected DOESNT mean the LONG FUCKING CABLE will be. You sir, ARE A FUCKING MORON. :devil:
October 6, 200816 yr Okay, so am i the only one that sees the FORCE OF GRAVITY ANYMORE? SEIROUSLY. just because the big fucking space station isn't affected DOESNT mean the LONG FUCKING CABLE will be. You sir, ARE A FUCKING MORON. :devil: Raged
October 6, 200816 yr rifk, if you idiots along with those scientists think the earth's spinning won't stop this form happening then we will see who is right in 200 years from now.
October 6, 200816 yr SourceX;588367']rifk' date=' if you idiots along with those scientists think the earth's spinning won't stop this form happening then we will see who is right in 200 years from now.[/quote'] One end is attached to Earth, the other is attached to the counter mass in geostationary orbit. It would all be spinning together. I doubt this will ever take shape, but spinning isn't really an issue. It would all be traveling with the Earth, spinning doesn't really present any problem to the physics of an orbital elevator. (compared to the many other problems...) Stay Classy.
October 6, 200816 yr Law of inertia and other fundamentals will be the elevators best friends. Basically. The spinning of the earth is what would make this possible, not something that would stop it. Centrifugal force will keep the counter weight at TDC(or as close to TDC as the baseline will be) above the base anchor point as long as the counter weight stays above GSO, due to the spinning of the earth. Once a weight was put on the cable and raised ti would obviously apply positive horizontal coriolis force to the cable, which would bring the counter weight down and back in the opposite direction of the Earth's orbit. As long as the weight was not so much as to produce coriolis force great enough to bring the counter weight below geo orbit, then it will remain up. Once that weight either passed into geo orbit (on the way up), or reached the base anchor point (on the way down) then it would release any coriolis force on the cable. At that point centrifugal force would have no force opponents and would return the counter weight to TDC again. The idea is very basic physics. (and I thought those physics courses would be a waste of time! lol) But what do those pesky physicists in the aerospace technology field know... :rolleyes: They could have saved themselves all that time and energy and just gotten the 'facts' from the internet experts, lol. As I stated earlier, I doubt it will ever work. But saying that the spinning of the Earth would stop it is the opposite of what physics has told us. It is the Earth's rotation that is necessary to the success of a orbital elevator. Stay Classy. Edited October 6, 200816 yr by Captian
October 7, 200816 yr what a fucking stupid idea i hope an asteroid whacks it and breaks it in half when it happens
October 7, 200816 yr I hope a bunch of smelly terroristic fucks known as Muslims fly a plane into the cable.
October 7, 200816 yr wav;588663']I hope a bunch of smelly terroristic fucks known as Muslims fly a plane into the cable. saved the thread. This is probably the most intelligent reason why they'll never build a space elevator. Too many stupid people who would either be jealous they weren't the ones working on it, or too many people who hate the world that want to destroy it.
