Dumbest idea in the history of human existence.
Sci-Fi's never been this real
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You still need to expend the huge amount of energy involved in lifting an object to such a height. It may be more efficient than a rocket, but you can't get around thermodynamics.
Trysts: there have been much, much dumber ideas and you know it.
Mar 2, 2012
0
#4
ivandh wrote:
Trysts: there have been much, much dumber ideas and you know it.
Like the Tower of Babel?
Space elevator
--is a proposed structure designed to transport material from Earth's surface directly into space or orbit without using large rockets. The concept is also applicable to other planets and celestial bodies. Many elevator variants have been suggested, all of which involve traveling along a fixed structure instead of using rocket-powered space launch. The fixed structure is most often a cable that reaches from the surface of the Earth on or near the equator, up through the level of geostationary orbit (GSO), and terminating at a counterweight well above that level.
For human riders on an Earth-based elevator, adequate protection against radiation would likely need to be provided, depending on the transit time through the Van Allen belts. At the transit times expected for early systems, radiation due to the Van Allen belts would, if unshielded, give a dose well above permitted levels.
A space elevator made of a carbon nanotubes composite ribbon anchored to an offshore sea platform would stretch to a small counterweight approximately 62,000 miles (100,000 km) into space. Mechanical lifters attached to the ribbon would then climb the ribbon, carrying cargo and humans into space, at a price of only about $100 to $400 per pound ($220 to $880 per kg).