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Space Elevator

(neal.fun)
1773 points kaonwarb | 1 comments | 20 Oct 25 04:42 UTC | HN request time: 0.274s | source
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isgb ◴[20 Oct 25 12:46 UTC] No.45643283[source]▶
> Space elevators are actually a possible idea being considered by scientists. > The hard part is making a strong enough cable. And finding enough elevator music...

Most engineers would bring up a lot more issues than just finding a strong cable. Also, most attempts with e.g. carbon nanotubes have been abandoned ages ago https://www.newscientist.com/article/2093356-carbon-nanotube....

- We don't have a good ascent mechanism other than rockets - and then we might just use rockets without building an elevator. - We don't have a good (and safe) descent mechanism. - Maintenance? Protection from space debris? Protection from oscillations? Ground-protection if the elevator collapses?

This is dyson-sphere level of fiction. We can do back-of-the-napkin calcualtions on how things would work, but the practicalities make it completely impossible or impractical.

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1. thijson ◴[20 Oct 25 15:40 UTC] No.45645166[source]▶
I think a space elevator on the Moon would be more practical, pointing towards earth. The gravity force is smaller, so existing materials could work. There's not as much of an atmosphere to deal with. It would go past the L1 point between earth and the moon. It could be extended from the poles, where it's most likely where bases might exist.