So you Wanna build a Space Elevator?
May 12, 2019 16:31:07 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on May 12, 2019 16:31:07 GMT -5
So you Wanna build a Space Elevator?
Getting into outer space today requires these huge rockets with these humongous engines, expending enormous amounts of fuel in order to develop enough thrust to elevate humans and cargo into orbit. But there is actually another way to do it. That is by using a space elevator.
An elevator that transports people and equipment into space might seem like something out of some dream, but it will be well within our technological human capability in the near future. Such an elevator would remain in Geo-stationary orbit, meaning that it would remain above the same geographical area as the Earth rotates on its axis at 1000 miles per hour, because it matches that rotational speed. Centrifugal force produced by the Earth's rotation at the equator would keep the cable on which the elevator ascends and descends taut. That can be illustrated by a can attached to a string and twirled. The string remains taut as the can rotates.
Tether
The main obstacle is manufacturing of a tether capable of withstanding the enormous stresses involved. Unfortunately, neither steel nor any alloy are capable of it. Fortunately, carbon nano tubes, or carbon diamond nanothreads, if fashioned into a tether can easily do so. In 2014, diamond nanothreads were first synthesized. Since they have strength properties similar to carbon nanotubes, diamond nanothreads were quickly seen as candidate cable material as well.
Climbers
Then we have what they call the climbers, or the sections that will travel up and down the tether. Just get on board one of these, and Voila! Soon you are in outer space? Nope! Not as pleasant as it might seem at first. You see, even at an ascension velocity of 300 km/h (190 mph), it would take you about 5 days to climb to geosynchronous orbit. That’s longer than it takes us to reach the moon!
Fine for transporting materials to build things in space or for deployment of other inanimate things, but definitely a trial for any human aboard a cramped elevator. That's for sure. So that's a human factor that must be seriously taken into consideration. Perhaps rest stops along the tether where humans can take a breather would be needed. But that would most likely complicate the construction considerably, making it perhaps unfeasible.
Fine for transporting materials to build things in space or for deployment of other inanimate things, but definitely a trial for any human aboard a cramped elevator. That's for sure. So that's a human factor that must be seriously taken into consideration. Perhaps rest stops along the tether where humans can take a breather would be needed. But that would most likely complicate the construction considerably, making it perhaps unfeasible.
Political problems:
Then, of course, there is the worry of terrorist attacks. Frustrated jihadists with their holy-war mentality would likely view the elevator as a target, just as they did with the Twin Towers. If the Twin Towers were a tempting target for a political statement, imagine how much more tempting such a cable would be. It would need to be under constant military protection both on the ground and in the air, since it’s whole length is a viable target.
It would take just one strike anywhere along its length to put it out of commission. Not a very pleasant scenario for those using the tether or those on the rotating station at that moment. A sudden release of tension would have them flying of into space while those using the tether would either fall or go flying of into space as well. The toppling tether itself would also be a hazard, as it whips down at high velocity into Earth's atmosphere towards potentially populated areas.
Those are just a few of the challenges to creating a space elevator. However, despite these concerns, it is still far more feasible than warp drive or teleportation as displayed in the Star Trek series. Those two are definitely NOT in our foreseeable future, and might not even be possible at all. Time will tell. But as for the space elevator-that indeed is, and some people born today might even see it in action, just as we saw cell phones and other sci-fi ideas become a reality