[extropy-chat] Re: sole superpower/warfare 2003-2010 comments

[Robert J. Bradbury]

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003, Spike (commenting on space tower
construction) wrote:

> I do beg to differ on this.  We are nowhere close to
> having the technology to build space towers, not in
> the next 20 years, not in the next 50.  Never mind
> all the practical difficulties, basic materials science
> is not even in the neighborhood of making it possible.

I'd be careful spike -- DuPont just announced a reasonable
way to separate out carbon nanotubes and I think the Univ.
of Utah has a method for spinning them into cables.  There
are 30+ companies working on making nanotubes cheap and
available.  Doesn't mean it will happen by 2010 -- but as
I'm fond of saying "If you lean on something long enough
it *will* fall over."

Though as I recall the way you have to build a cable
to GSO is you have to start with the materials in GSO
and run the cable toward the planet and a balancing
cable away from the planet at the same time.  I think
its going to require a *lot* of Delta 4's to get that
much nanotube cable up to GSO.

Robert