←back to thread

Space Elevator

(neal.fun)
1773 points kaonwarb | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.206s | source
Show context
tempestn ◴[] No.45640679[source]
TIL it's estimated that over 48 tons of meteors hit the atmosphere every day.

Regarding actual space elevators though, while they're not sci-fi to the extent of something like FTL travel - ie. they're technically not physically impossible - they're still pretty firmly in the realm of sci-fi. We don't have anything close to a cable that could sustain its own weight, let alone that of whatever is being elevated. Plus, how do you stabilize the cable and lifter in the atmosphere?

A space elevator on the moon is much more feasible: less gravity, slow rotation, no atmosphere, less dangerous debris. But it's also much less useful.

replies(10): >>45641098 #>>45641279 #>>45641321 #>>45641436 #>>45641636 #>>45641725 #>>45642489 #>>45644099 #>>45644600 #>>45647734 #
fijiaarone ◴[] No.45644600[source]
Have you ever tried to balance a string on its end? It gets harder, the longer the string is. There aren’t any other physics than that.
replies(2): >>45646411 #>>45656701 #
1. hermitcrab ◴[] No.45646411[source]
I think most plans envisage a large mass (such as a captured asteroid) in geostationary orbit to anchor the top of the elevator cable.