[ExI] Space Elevator

[Bryan Bishop]

On Tuesday 25 March 2008, Jeff Davis wrote:
> I have a bett..., ur..., different idea.  An inflated structure --
> dome or tube or ramp-like thingie -- with the topmost part up there
> above the hundred mile mark. Even if it were a thousand miles long
> and a hundred miles high(at the high point) it would still be a
> fraction of the size of the space elevator, and substantially cheaper
> -- my opinion -- and easier to construct -- since fabrication and
> setup would all take place on good ol' terra firma.

I did the calculations for this scenario. Things are not favorable. Have 
you thought about using water instead? You'd need 2E11 liters, and 
there's 3.26E21 liters on the planet. You'd need 10^18 joules to pump 
it up if you could find water running at 1 m/sec^2. To get that many 
joules you'd need 100,000 copies of the Fat Man atomic bomb. You'd need 
a few hundred kg of uranium, so $20k USD just for the uranium (assuming 
$45/lb -- I checked the net and this might be right).

> This is part of a much bigger project (of mine) which I'm sharing
> with youse guys and gals on account of your being folks of like mind
> -- you know, technophiles, first adopters, vanguard of the technorati
> and all.  But I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't spread it around too
> much, you know, just your best buds and those likely to be friendly
> toward such notions.  Mum's the word, mostly.

You are cruel: why share a good idea and ask us not to implement it?

- Bryan
________________________________________
Bryan Bishop
http://heybryan.org/