Yes, scientists are actually building an elevator to space - Fabio Pacucci

Explore the physics behind space elevators, which would theoretically use a cable anchored to Earth and extending into space.

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Sending rockets into space requires sacrificing expensive equipment, burning massive amounts of fuel, and risking potential catastrophe. So in the space race of the 21st century, some engineers are abandoning rockets for something more exciting: elevators. What would it take to build such a structure? Fabio Pacucci explores the physics behind modern space elevators.

Lesson by Fabio Pacucci, directed by Tjoff Koong Studios.

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[blacktimhoward]

This narrator has been doing this for like 10 years and he remains an absolute legend

[peterpain]

If they can create a whole elevator to space it better have some sick waiting music

[karry]

>Yes, scientists are actually building an elevator
No, they are not ACTUALLY building an elevator.

[vido]

There also needs to be space escalators and space emergency fire exits to adhere to safety codes.

[ShortHax]

“The space elevator will be built about 50 years after everyone stops laughing”
- Arthur C. Clarke

[shinyagumon]

I was always fascinated by the idea of a Space elevator, although if the whole ride that 8 days than I hope that the climber is more like a small space station rather than like an elevator cabinn

[ziguirayou]

No, there is no one building anything like a space elevator. Scientists are simply thinking about how one would go about building it. Huge difference!

[IAsimov]

"For one thing, a construction accident could be catastrophic."

*Flashbacks to Foundation TV series' Star Bridge terrorist attack.*

Other alternatives to space elevators are either mass drivers, which are essentially half-cannons-half-landing pads for stuff to be shot to or catched from space. Or, space tethers, which would also require to be long and in space, but instead are rotating skyhooks that catch stuff to yeet it into space.

[AuRoaraAnimations]

an elevator to space would be an introverts worst nightmare

considering “small talk” fear

[joanhoffman]

I love how Ted-Ed can teach us about, well, anything, in 5 minutes. This is one of the best channels ever. Thank you, Ted-Ed!

[a_weird_mess]

Am I the only one who immediately thought of "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" on seeing the video's title?

[niyan]

- "So which floor?"
- "Fly me to the moon"

[tadimanditereza]

I feel like those awkward elevator moments would be even worse

[christophercruz]

I know "centrifugal force" is a common thing to say, but every time I hear it said, my old physics teacher's voice pops into my head saying, "There's no such thing! Just call it inertia, because that's what it is!"

[Mido_]

When you're on the carousel and you let the string go, the rock with the string will fly away. Now imagine you're in the space elevator and the cable snaps.

[a_weird_mess]

What about the emergency exit leading to the stairs in case of a fire?

[JPK]

The space elevator was a big point in the Gundam OO anime.

The elevator in there acted like vertical trains.

[TKSSLCHN]

I'm sceptical about the safety. The ISS carries a multi-layered armour to protect against debris, how would the cable be protected? For reference, the geostationary counterweight would be at almost 100x the altitude of the ISS. How often would it have to dodge things, and can we even track the smallest pieces that could cause damage?
And if a climber is supposed to be 95% cheaper than a rocket launch but has to travel along a cable under its own propulsion for 5 days, it seems that a lot could go wrong.

The video also skipped about the gigantic problem of how to connect such a gargantuan cable in the first place. A quick wikipedia crosscheck gives some interesting plans (a slim 20 ton base cable which supports small construction climbers that would then expand the cable to over 700 tons, hopefully supporting 20 ton climbers at the end), but one has to wonder how many risks such plans contain. A 20 ton cable with a weight of only slightly above 1 gram per meter would certainly be vulnerable to a great many things.

[kaito]

I like how TED just glossed over the whole '8 days in an elevator' thing.

[zookiekookied]

if something like this actually happens, then now we just need a space hotel