Space Elevator Going Up

Adlopa writes "The Guardian newspaper reports on scientists' efforts to realise the space elevator, as first described by Arthur C Clarke in his 1979 novel 'Fountains of Paradise'. Advances in materials science mean that 'a cable reaching up as far as 100,000km from the surface of the Earth' is no longer an impossibility and 70 scientists and engineers are discussing the idea at a conference in Santa Fe today."

Comments

Yahoo!!!

[losttoy]

First post! Isn't that enought to mod me up?? ;)

Re:Yahoo!!!

[Justin205]

Sorry, 7th post, and no, it isn't enough. Make a GOOD commment, and that will get you modded up.

Re:Yahoo!!!

[losttoy]

Dang!! Fscking net lag!!

Yes, and all we need next...

[michaeltoe]

...Are giant robots with ray guns

AMAZON TROLL

[Anonymous Coward]

hey stupid person you have posted (as an Anonymous Coward) several links to books on amazon.com with you as a refferer have you thought about getting a job ? or maybe i should just report you as a spammer to amazon my guess is your just a dumb american kid who doesnt know any better

What goes up must come down/Spinning wheel got to

[jerryasher]

While I am a great backer of the space elevator, for some reason Blood Sweat and Tear's Spinning Wheel comes to mind.

What goes up must come down
Spinnin' wheel got to go 'round
Talkin' 'bout your troubles it's a cryin' sin
Ride a painted pony let the spinnin' wheel spin

You got no money and you got no home
Spinnin' wheel all alone
Talkin' 'bout your troubles and you never learn
Ride a painted pony let the spinnin' wheel turn

Did you find the directing sign on the
Straight and narrow highway
Would you mind a reflecting sign
Just let it shine within your mind
And show you the colors that are real

Someone is waiting just for you
Spinnin' wheel, spinnin' true
Drop all your troubles by the riverside
Ride a painted pony let the spinning wheel fly]

(I note that some configurations of the space elevator is that of a spinning space cable with a hook at the end that periodically touches the earth, grabs a cargo and raises it into space.)a

ATTN: MODERATION ABUSE..

[Anonymous Coward]

it seems that the thin-skinned, P.C. moderators can't accept the reality of today's post 9/11 world.

You can mod this down to hell and ignore the issue, but it still is a valid one.

Abusing your mod privileges like this shows how much free speech there really is on slashdot.

Free speech except when it's speech I don't agree with.

We need a new moderation code (or two)

[Linker3000]

My god, they've all crawled out of the woodwork on this one:

IMHOBait

AmateurScientistBait

NotQualfiedToPostButIWillAnywayBait

ConspiracyBait

IfGodHadMeantUsToBait

IKnowMoreThanTheExpertsBait

Now this would be a terrorist target!

[Genjurosan]

How much money is it going to take to protect a cable in the middle of the ocean reaching up into space? We have a hard enough time protecting domestic flights. A flight hijacked out of Indonesia on a course to shear the 'space elevator' in half. I can see the news now.

While I think the idea is a GREAT idea, I worry about those that just see it as one more symbol of achievement for the 'west'.

Ugg....

Can't we buy everyone free college first???

[pestihl]

I mean, 7 billion for a space elevator, and another 3 billion to put a navy around it 24/7 to protect it from FUD.

And we are still cutting education? I don't understand this place.