Space Elevators--Do They Exist?

no they do not exist.

Thanks for your opinion.
I am sure it is based on careful research and consideration, right?
You wouldn't just pop off about something you haven't looked into, right?
Just checking.

[link to www.youtube.com]

How could they possibly hide a thick cable that is hanging in the sky?

Here's some lovely maths on the subject:
[link to www.zadar.net]

"Under the term the cable length we consider the length where the cable is of the same thickness on the both ends. Consequently, the cable length is 143 800 km (although it can be in reality shorter or longer)."

Last Edited by Chapman_Baxter on 12/30/2010 08:07 AM

They do not exist. If a "space Elevator" existed there would be a decent sized mass in geosynchronous orbit around the equator of earth. Armchair astronomers would have seen that through a low powered telescope, perhaps even through binoculars and attention would have been called to it to where the more serious amateur astronomers with larger optical devices would have focused their attention on it and would have made out the 'cable'.

Currently the only material we have that could, possibly, be strong enough to make a space elevator is the 'Bucky ball' carbon atom called a fullerene.

Fullerenes are a 'new' material that is adaptive nanotechnology. We are only now entering the area of practical application of nanotechnology.

While we have had success in creating small fullerenes in the lab, we have yet to mass produce or make a fullerene that is useful in any practical technology.

Do not be disheartened by this, during the next couple three decades do expect there to be an explosion of fullerene technology being used in lots of stuff.

The glass company Corning invented a 'new' glass back in the 1930's-40's that has had no use until very recently. The 'rediscovery' of it (basically someone was sifting through old files) has lead to new experimentation to see if it can be used to make ultra-ultra thin screens/monitors for cell phones, TV's computers. The strength of the glass is such that a 1/4 inch frame less TV monitor may be on the shelf in the next 10 years.

I mention this to point out that we humans do in fact return to old ideas and old 'finds' in order to apply to current (yet new) technologies.

It is highly probable that a space elevator will be on the list of applications once mass production of the fullerene stars.

They do in theory...

Just found this in my subs (BBC4 so may be unavailable to non-UK'ers, let me know).

A big rope sticking up into the sky would be a hazard for aircraft. So they couldn't just pretend it isn't there.

[link to weewarrior.wordpress.com]

Some more info I have collected.

So far I haven't heard an argument that convinces me this is a dead end investigation.

By the time anytime hits YOU TUBE... of course it is TRUE... and YES... they do exist...

It is old news...

We are 20 years beyond in what the general public knows.

At least 20, if not light years.
Problem is, how to we get them to fess up and share?

Thanks, I got it just fine.
Very interesting, such a showman, ain't he.

Anyway, I couldn't help asking myself just how they knew that the Kevlar material would only support 2 or 3 people for a journey from earth to space without having tried it out already? Formulas and models are one thing, but to think they haven't been testing this out under real conditions already is just a bit naive.