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NASA Funds Sci-Fi Technology
Michael Huang writes "Wired News profiles the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC), the $4 million-a-year agency most famous for Bradley Edwards' study of the space elevator. Lesser known studies include weather control, shape-shifting space suits and antimatter-powered probes to Alpha Centauri. Remember, 'if it's not risky, it's not going to get funded'."
As Buckminster Fuller said, we should focus more on "livingry" rather than weaponry.
I belong to the ______ generation.
The idea of the space elevator is about 35 years old. Yuri Artusanov (spelling?) came up with the idea circa 1968, and Arthur C. Clarke ran with it in "The Fountains of Paradise". The anchor point's name of "Clarke" in the Mars series was a tribute.
The only reason we have the rights we have is that people just like us died to gain those rights. -- Cheerio Boy
I believe this concept (or one very similar) Arthur C Clarke aired in his book 2061.
He was just re using the concept he presented for the first time in "The Fountains of Paradise" (1978).
Great book, BTW.
Plus, if you look at their studies it seems they have figured out pretty much everything already. The only technical detail they're waiting for is a sufficiently strong carbon nanotube composite to make the cable of, and they're already making good progress there. After that, apparently it becomes just an engineering/funding problem.
Of course the studies could be mistaken, but still it's definitely not in the pure "Sci-Fi" category anymore. With a bit of luck, we'll still live to see it built. :-)
Actually, Mr. Fuller had domes. The balls referred to above have his name in honor of the domes.
You probably shouldn't click this.
Cause, of course, we haven't seen every single technical article that describes the space elevator in any sort of techincal detail mention that it would be a wide but extremely thin ribbon that, were it ever to break or be cut, would float down with not even enough kinetic energy to hurt a person. That coupled with the fact that any sections not far enough into the atmosphere to be slowed that way would, upon reentering the atmosphere and building up a bit of heat, disintegrate.
In other words, if their engineering ideas are even close, the only place we'll see a big disaster caused by a space elevator cable coming down is fiction.
"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
To clarify a little something for any non-physicists out there: Seat belts are designed to distribute force evenly across the strongest parts of a vehicle occupant's body (the hips and chest). We already have materials strong enough that 10 microns could restrain an accident victim, but a 10-micron seat belt would cut through your flesh, probably down to the bone in the case of an accident.
In other words, the world does not need a better 10 micron seat belt.
There's a whole bunch more on NASA's way-out research over here.