Space elevator vibration

[Starbattle64]

*cough* Graphene *cough*

[r2dxhate]

if earth is dragging the anchor, why not make the anchor a huge kite instead of trying to reach 22,000 or w/e miles to space? we could slowly accelerate up to a speed that would escape earths gravity without needing anymore ribbon to ride. it shouldn't be a casual elevator, it should be a runway.

[Nexstarcrazyness]

when its in tension it should be stronger than steel. i suppose nothing can screw with it.

[Sustorres09]

it looks like the space elevator is goin to collaspe.

[Nexstarcrazyness]

A bird innocently flying by would just smack right into it causing this shockwave.

Place it in a part of the world void of flying animals, weather and wind (not bloody likely).

This elevator better not be like flying a kite!

[Moirera]

@Nexstarcrazyness

They've already sorted this, the bigger issue is space junk, orbiting trash and satellites. But then again they more or less have solutions for those too.

[SBuzdy]

i doubt if its gonna be built that'll vibrate that much,that's a "tsunami wave" not a vibration;maybe if it snapped.

the concept is based on the high speed of the rotating body in orbit(at the end of the cable) and the centrifugal force which keeps the cable straight and tensed.

the only problem for now is creating the carbon nanotubes long enough and tough enough to endure the payloads and debry bombardments in space.

[reyhmpdsxc]

what if they connect earth to the moon?

instead of going to the moon, let the moon come to us. we can probably winch them closer with a cable made out of diamonds or something.

[loumiven]

what space elevator? are they going to make one like in gundam 00? hehe

[Atoyota]

That was a whole lot more than slightly exaggerated. Also I feel the effect shown would not increase but decrease, much like the wave effect of a hanging rope, but because of the constant tension induced by the orbiting counterweight.

Such a ripple would only be attempted to protect the tether from a threat.

[internationalnineone]

impossible

[jackorpin]

why?

[lejink]

because u cannot be stationart and be in orbit. otherwise i could be standing in the sky. or in space, or where ever i wanted. u need 2 be traveling at a high rate of speed. think of swinging a rope over ur head, it needs 2 be swinging fast enough otherwise it just falls down. if something is fixed over one spot on earth its speed is the same as the rotation of the earth which isnt enough to escape earths gravity. not in low earth orbit anyways

[jackorpin]

exactly the satellite is in geostationary orbit... which is very high

[NickBK007]

thats not how it works. it will be fixed over a stationary point on earth, rotating in time with earth's rotation, but it will be travelling a far greater distance to keep up with it. so it will be traveling much faster than earth's rotation. simple physics. also, i wouldn't say "never", when you're talking bout new technology. you're more that likely to eat your words at some point down the track.

[lejink]

thats why i said 'not in low earth orbit anyways' because there is geostationary orbit but thats a massive distance. would be extremely difficult to stabilize it

[NickBK007]

oh true. yeah you're right. there must exist an optimal distance from earth's surface so that its rotation will keep the elevator's carbon ribbon in tension. i think they are calculating for 22,000 miles.... not sure what that is in kilometers. after america is done making the space elevator, they should work on converting to the metric system.

[lejink]

some prick like me would walk up with a pair of massive scissors n SNIP LoL

22,000miles = 35,405kms

id like to see the magnetic acceleration system i saw on discovery once.. its like one of those mag lev trains only its on a really massive track n the train is accelerated upto almost enough speed n launched out, then a small rocket carrys it the rest of the way.

would use a lot of electricity though :S technology already exists though, just pricey

[NickBK007]

hahaha. so long as you had some seriously sharp scissors.... apparently they reckon carbon nanotube is stronger than steel. i'll believe it when i see it.

i haven't heard of the magnetic launch system, but im def gonna utube it now. technology is cool =)

[starchild9000]

carbon nanotube IS many many times stronger than steel IN TENSION, and it is the tensile properties that is needed for something like this. the carbon bonds are the same that hold diamonds together.

[Valkyriefury]

But how is the strength of the force that holds the nanotubes together, is it a weak point?

[FutureScientistOfUSA]

did research, carbon nanotube is 10X lighter than steel, and 250X stronger than steel.

[FutureScientistOfUSA]

rofl, you couldnt snip the nanotube.

[lejink]

absurd idea isnt it? i thought it would be clear it was a joke, apparently not.

[FutureScientistOfUSA]

apperently

[FutureScientistOfUSA]

*apparently*

[Helge129]

think of a gigantic jojo: The satelite is in geostationary orbit.

[semcounty]

i farted in an elevator once

[Lilinvader34]

that is unbelievably sexy .

[ikekll]

Vacuum Physics Technology

"Americans have had rinky-dink stuff since the 1930's"

[megamarsvin]

My mom gets seasick just watching boats on TV. Imagine having to ride that wave :D

[Sm0ky2]

you're fortting that the end of the elevator is moving at some 360 million miles per hour

-the great tension on the cable would prevent any kind of wave propegation like that shown in this video.

[LoneEagle2061]

It wouldn't - more energy would be required to produce the amplitude shown but as that's exaggerated anyway...

[BaconFiend86]

well this video certainly answered a lot of questions for me.

[clarisd]

well worse case sin, but with thrusters and programs to work in tandom you may be able to control the wip effect, you would have to have thrusters all along the body. maybe

[ZogIndo]

it obviously means that its going to be one hell of a roller coaster

[Justpeachey1029]

EVERYONE, DO THE WAVE!

[happytodd]

rofl

[1888junkteam]

get ready for alot of elevator music

[happytodd]

I remember NASA building one of these things back I believe in the 1970's. They deployed the elevator thing from a space craft but it got wrecked straight away from something. Forgot what though.

[nixter1nixter1]

The primary objective of STS-75 was to carry the Tethered Satellite System Reflight (TSS-1R) into orbit and to deploy it spaceward on a conducting tether. It had nothing to do with a Space Elevator.

Launch February 22, 1996 3:18:00.061 pm EST.

Landing KSC Saturday, March 9, 1996 at 8:58:38 a.m EST, SLF Runway 33

[happytodd]

Your so right, It was called the tether. You sure did your homework didnt you :D

[happytodd]

Wtf is this real? do they already have a working elevator to go out of space O.o

[Rhademanthus]

Read the description. It clearly says 'simulation' and 'animation'.

They're working on making htem, though.

[HERETICAL]

Hello Child, hellp digg. Go back to nickelodeon idiot.

[andy7666]

I wouldn't like to be in THAT elevator!

[afxgrin]

That looked kind of rough, but I get the idea. Not that it would happen exactly like that, but yeah a small disturbance at the ground causes a big change in the position of the counterweight.

There would need a method for introducing counter waves into the tether to reduce the effect .... which of course is probably impossible, just like the rest of the project. :-)

[Rhademanthus]

Never underestimate the clever things they could do with nanomaterials. The impossible always seems obvious in retrospect.

[DeimosSaturn]

So it's like the largest string instrument in the universe.

[Rhademanthus]

Or a giant bullwhip.