Slashdot Mirror
Future of Space Elevator Looks Shaky
lurking_giant writes "In a report on NewScientist.com, researchers working on development of a space elevator (an idea we have discussed numerous times) have determined that the concept is not stable. Coriolis force on the moving climbers would cause side loading that would make stability extremely difficult, while solar wind would cause shifting loads on the geostationary midpoint. All of this would likely make it necessary to add thrusters, which would consume fuel and negate the benefits of the concept. Alternatively, careful choreography of multiple loads might ease the instability, again with unknown but negative economic impacts."
I told everyone it wouldn't work. But would they laugh at me? No!
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Willy Wonka had it right. We should just be doing that instead.
You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
How about a space "cannon" like in Final Fantasy 8 then?
If an elevator won't work what about a space escalator?
No one said it would be easy.
End of lesson. You may press the button.
you will be... you... will... be...
Yep, anything 24K+ miles long and thin as a wire and zipping through the upper reaches of the atmosphere would probably be "shaky"....
The cesspool just got a check and balance.
If all goes to hell, just jump in the elevator right before it hits the ground. Problem solved.
Obligatory xkcd reference: http://xkcd.org/123/
Extreme Programming - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Developers
Your mind will be hyperboggled by the amount of paperwork, business trips and expense account lunches the project will generate. The engineering will look like chump change.
They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
OK... what if we built this large wooden ladder...
This idea has it's ups and downs.
Operator, give me the number for 911!
You people with your damn hyperlinks are ruining journalism. It's getting so a guy can't even wait breathlessly for the News At 11 anymore to find out what common household product might be Killing Our Children.
I know what you mean. Turns out it was steak knives. Anti-climactic for sure.
The enemies of Democracy are
Apollo 1 doesn't count, as NASA declared a mulligan.
æeee!
Easy fix:
Build the elevator in the Florida everglades and use mosquito carcasses as reaction mass.
æeee!
Wait till it 30.. it'll stabilize around then.
Unless she's still single. Then she'll start collecting cats.
Take a ball of paper and throw it at 100,000 miles an hour. Tell me that's not going to cause some damage.
For starters it's really going to strain your arm.
First, GP:
There's also the problem that any ninja can come along and cut the cord
I think it'll survive a katana if it can survive the other stresses being placed on it.
It's a ninja. A ninja can use any weapon he likes and will be able to cut the thing if he pleases
Well, the base would be mobile too -- in the ocean. But I see your point.
AHA! Ninja problem is solved. Surround the base with pirates!
This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
Unless she's still single. Then she'll start collecting cats.
So you're saying Schrodinger was waaaay before his time?
..a space escalator can never break, it can only become space stairs.
I am confident there will be no problems. Ship it.
Signed,
Bill "Shakey" Bradson
Lead Engineer, Tacoma Narrows project
Maybe we just can't SEE the hyper-dimensional space whales.
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
And since she's Physics, she'll name them all Schroedinger.
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
... let's just say I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for the space elevator."
Actually, you only need to hold your breath waiting for the ride DOWN.
Pendulums reach maximum velocity at the lowest point, not coincidentally where the atmosphere is thickest. Basically exactly the opposite of what you want, for values of "want" that don't include burning up.
Aside from that, swings/pendulums only work when the material holding the bob is relatively massless, otherwise you'd get massive oscillations that would rip the "ropes" free of their pivot, if you could even get it swinging at all.
But if we're submitting our votes for things that will never work, I vote for the extremely large Ferris wheel. Just imagine how awesome that will be when it rips free of its hub and rolls away.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
The lower you step off, the less velocity you have, and eventually your orbit will intersect with the surface of the planet.
Ah yes, my arch nemesis: the surface of the planet. The same thing that keeps me from achieving free fall with every step I take. "Woohoo, I'm in orrrrr.. [thud]. DAMNIT!"
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
Think the Wright brothers, Einstein or better still Michelangelo, who imagined flying machines and submarines that were only inviable because the necessary technology (engineering & materials) were not available.
I think the Ninja Turtle you meant was Leonardo ;)
I'm speaking from personal experience here. Do you ever look back at a joke that you told or got and laughed at and thought: "Wow, I really am a nerd."
Sometimes I think I should but then I realize if I observe them I could change the outcome.