Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Still More on Space Elevators

Posted by michael on from the stopping-at-every-floor dept.

parseexception writes "The NYTimes is reporting Not Science Fiction: An Elevator to Space. Not a whole lot of technical detail but good read. It is interesting to see alternatives to current space technologies being explored."

6 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. Happy Google linky no reg by borgboy · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not Science Fiction: An Elevator to Space

    --
    meh.
  2. Fountains of Paradise by Henry+V+.009 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Clarke's Fountains of Paradise is a wonderful book. It presents the basic physical problems of a space elevator and some ways to solve them (and it has a great plot too).

    Right now, as Clarke envisioned, carbon nanotubes are the only engineering material that could be used to make this elevator. The basic technological question is whether we will ever be able to make cheap and long nanotubes. Despite the enthusiasm for a space elevator in the NYT article, we really have no idea how to do that. And any cost estimates like "$6 billion" are very immature without that kind of detail.

  3. All we need is for the ball to get rolling... by LinuxMan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Once we have a number of people going into space, and it builds a travel industry around it, suddenly we will see lots of innovations like the space elevator, etc. become not only practical but quite cheap. If only the government used computers, computers would cost a fortune, but since there is such competition, we have computers that sell for $300 or less now. If that same concept is applied to space travel, there WILL be competition, and there WILL be new better, cheaper ways to get up there, which may or may not involve the space elevator.

    My theory has always been that once we have a hotel on the moon, due to it's gravity, people will not have as much of a hard time adapting to it for their vacation, more hotels will open up in competition. Initially, a lot of money would be spent setting up, but the costs of everything would continue to go down. Before we knew it, we would have faster propulsion technologies, better gravity-like technology, and we would be off to Mars for our next resort, resulting in even better competition for innovation.

    space elevator

  4. Space elevator news by Quaelin+PoD · · Score: 5, Informative
    I help run a space elevator news / portal site:
    LiftWatch.org
    We've got links to this story and many more... plus reports on the recent SE conference in Santa Fe, discussion forums, image galleries, etc. Check it out!

    I've put in a request... hopefully our headlines will be added as a slashbox here soon.

  5. This "Space Elevator" seems cool and all, but by the_Upsetter · · Score: 4, Funny
    Funny... I can't think of a single thing to say on this topic.

    Not one thing.

    --
    the most mysterious thing you'll see today
  6. I hope by cbmeeks · · Score: 3, Funny

    to be the first to stand in that elevator...and press all the buttons so that the next guy will have to stop at every port before the 60,000 mile trip is over. hehehe cb

    --
    Remember, licking doorknobs is illegal on other planets.