Getting into space by broomstick

[glenc]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7792297.stm
The prospects for the space elevator have been shaken up with a simple prototype using a broomstick.
Age-Raymond Riise of the European Space Agency demonstrated the device at a space elevator conference in December.
The project could see a 100,000km long tether anchored to the Earth as a "lift into space" for cheaper space missions...

[erick]

Brilliant concept! Implementation will be tough.

[renormalised]

One thing these guys have seemed to have forgotten....carbon....conducts electricity, and they're going to have a cable from GEO to the ground. Rotating along with the Earth within a giant magnetic field....what happens when you get a conductor rotating within a magnetic field....that's right, an electric current. With this one, a massive electric current, commensurate with the potential difference between both ends. In this case trillions of volts!!!!!:eyepop::scared:

Unless the nanotubes have the same conducting qualities as graphite and they layer the crystals of the carbon nanotubes carefully and in the right orientation, they'll get the biggest shock (pun intended) they'll ever see.

If I remember correctly, the strength in carbon nanotubes runs longitudinally along the carbon atom lattice, in which case they wont act like graphite at all. They'll be a very good conductor of electricity. If they could handle the voltages involved, they could use the power generated within the cable to power their carriages on the elevator and also to power the countryside below.

[jungle11]

Perhaps they should be looking to further this project for 'free energy' rather than a ground to orbit lifting dodah. That could be an absolutly brilliant idea!
If they can do it, that is.
And I guess it wouldn't be 'free' as such - but endless yes.
But will the expense of fabricating so much cable and lifting it in pieces to orbit might remain too expensive to get off the ground. By the time the expense has come down enough to make it doable, we might find our launching systems are becoming quite economical in themselves. How many launches would be needed to cart 100 000km of cable into orbit? Man i don't even want to think about it.

[leon]

Maybe they should be thinking of doing some constructive here on earth before wanting to leave it, what a load of crap.

Leon

[renormalised]

With the amount of money they waste here on the planet, they could've solved a lot of the problems they face more than twice over. What's needed is the political will and know how to fix things...and a bit of moral backbone. But cutting money from something and putting it into another "black hole" wont fix anything. Although, trying to string a cable upto GEO and keeping it there will be a darn side harder and more expensive than coming up with a cost effective launch vehicle. I wouldn't like the job of putting it up.

Just had a thought...why not send the Shuttle out with a bang by connecting a huge roll of cable on the back and letting it all roll out on liftoff!!!:eyepop::P:P:D

After they retrofit the Shuttle with large enough tanks to get it to GEO:P:D.