12/09/2003: 
Technologica
Nanaotechnology to Make Space Elevator Concept a Reality
To get into low Earth orbit, the space shuttle burns approximately 4 million pounds (1.8 million kg) of fuel in eight minutes. That's a huge amount of fuel for a 200-mile (322-km) trip. With a space elevator, the need for rocket fuel is eliminated completely. The elevator draws its initial launch energy from an electrical-power station on the ground.
As the vehicle rides farther up the cable it requires less electrical energy, relying more on the centrifugal force produced by the spinning counterweight to pull it into orbit. By the time the vehicle reaches the end of the cable, it could be moving as fast as 6.79 miles per second (10.93 kps)! At these speeds, a vehicle could detach from the cable and fly off into space at speeds fast enough to reach Mars in days or weeks instead of months.
"Technically it's feasible," said Robert Cassanova, director of the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. "There's nothing wrong with the physics."
The key to the concept's feasibility lies in the material that will be used to construct the ribbon between the Earth and outer space. Nanotubes are essentially sheets of graphite -- a lattice of carbon -- seamlessly rolled into long tubes that are mere nanometers in diameter. These are 100 times as strong as steel, but much lighter.
"Carbon nanotubes are rapidly developing," Cassanova said. "They are not long enough to stretch from Earth's surface to 62,000 miles, but there are a number of organizations working on that now."
For those who are interested there is much more information to be found at the link below.
More
For more information on the Space Elevator concept find below a selection of links.
4 Annotations Submitted
Tuesday the 9th of December, santo26 noted:
TANSTAAFL! This makes me want to go reread the sci- fi classic, " The Moon is a Harsh Mistress " by Robert A. Heinlein. Man, this website is cool.
Wednesday the 10th of December, awiggins noted:
Actually, while doing reading regarding the subject, I came across some references to "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress," as well as a few books by Clarke. I am intrigued. When I read Clarke's "3001," his description of a space elevator was quite compelling. I will have to add yet another Heinlein book to my bottomless reading list. Though after the absurdity of "sluts quarters" in "Farnham's Freehold," I am not as eager as I might have been.
Wednesday the 10th of December, prof_booty noted:
the sluts quarters was the absurd thing in Farnham's Freehold? How about the unexplained time travel?
Wednesday the 10th of December, santo26 noted:
"Harsh Mistress" involves a revolution on a Moon which has a space elevator. "Freehold" was a little less serious than some of RAH's other works, and besides, I have a copy.
