General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsA Construction Company in Japan Plans to have a Working Space Elevator by 2050.
Here, we will be lucky build a new Applebee's.
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It may be possible to travel to space in an elevator as early as 2050, a major construction company has announced.
Obayashi Corp., headquartered in Tokyo, on Monday unveiled a project to build a gigantic elevator that would transport passengers to a station 36,000 kilometers above the Earth.
For the envisaged project, the company would utilize carbon nanotubes, which are 20 times stronger than steel, to produce cables for the space elevator.
The idea of space elevators has been described in several science-fiction novels. Obayashi, however, believes it is possible to construct one in the real world thanks to carbon nanotubes, which were invented in the 1990s, the company said.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120221004421.htm
originalpckelly
(24,382 posts)Things don't always work out as planned.
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)Wait. That worked. The space elevator idea has some serious problems - like storms for example. They couldn't handle an earthquake that damaged a reactor. That's dead space right now. I wouldn't trust said "elevator". We need to get beyond three-dimensional thinking and accept that the universe is multi-dimensional (at least 17 of them initially). Everything is based on Newtonian physics and no astro-physics lab has addressed the reality that we are NOT in a three dimensional world. That's just conventional thinking getting in the way of reality.
yesphan
(1,588 posts)to reach destination. That's a long time to stare at the floor numbers.
VWolf
(3,944 posts)IDemo
(16,926 posts)VWolf
(3,944 posts)Worse than santorum (either kind)
hootinholler
(26,449 posts)I actually have heard a muzac'd version
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Best to practice not getting caught...
http://www.java-gaming.com/game/4667/Elevator_Fart/
Brother Buzz
(36,463 posts)lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)Not mars, not moonbases. This.
JHB
(37,161 posts)This makes those more feasible. Those give added incentive to making something like this.
JHB
(37,161 posts)...and they even admit they can't estimate the cost yet, partly because there are still a number of very large technical issues that need to be worked out before this could be pulled off.
It would be an amazing project once those problems are worked out, but it would take a much bigger effort than one company could pull off.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)VWolf
(3,944 posts)Earth_First
(14,910 posts)Initech
(100,102 posts)sudopod
(5,019 posts)Earth_First
(14,910 posts)sudopod
(5,019 posts)No googling. Explain what you know about the idea in a sentence or two.
Just because something doesn't fall within the purview of your everyday experience doesn't make it unimportant, much less crazy.
If you want to have this fight, we can.
Earth_First
(14,910 posts)sudopod
(5,019 posts)Earth_First
(14,910 posts)Colbert, or comedy in general...?
Lighten up, yeesh!
sudopod
(5,019 posts)Besides, math is hard.
EDIT: implying anything in this thread is as funny as Stephen Colbert... :|
Maine-ah
(9,902 posts)where the hell are 30 people going to sleep, eat, and shit for 7 days? They'd have to make this elevator a small hotel.
JHB
(37,161 posts)The advantage of these things is that (once it is in place) the energy requirements to get things up to orbit are much reduced since you can use more efficient methods of applying that energy.
Rockets have to dump out a lot of energy very quickly in order to accelerate a payload to orbital velocities, which is very inefficient. By being able to use "slow and steady" propulsion that is much more energy-efficient, the per-pound cost of getting something to orbit drops dramatically.
In theory. Once this piece of infrastructure is in place, if it can be done. There are still many technical issues that would need to be addressed before something like this could actually be put in place.
Uncle Joe
(58,417 posts)Thanks for the thread, onehandle.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)CatholicEdHead
(9,740 posts)Did they watch too much South Park?
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s06e12-a-ladder-to-heaven
csziggy
(34,137 posts)The ultimate ride! Even if you only got to spend a day or two "up top", the trip would be, um, a TRIP!
I've read the science fiction stories about space elevators and thought they were a cool idea, but didn't think anyone would ever be able to build one. I hope I live long enough to see them achieve it, though I will have to live to be one hundred.
csziggy
(34,137 posts)csziggy
(34,137 posts)We want to take one for our 75th wedding anniversary. We'll both be 100 - this will give us something to keep going for!
Meanwhile, I pulled my copy of The Fountains of Paradise to re-read.
Zanzoobar
(894 posts)I swear, I thought the subject line meant working-space elevator, not working space-elevator.
I thought 'they' meant to make people work on the way to and from their cube farms.
Am I alone?