Space Elevators - Could We Really Build an Elevator into Space?

[davidpepin]

Imagine having to hear the space elevator music for 8 days straight!

[empressoftheknownuniverse]

Please please please do O'Neill cylinders next...or maybe von Neumann probes...or Dyson Swarms. I watched Casual Criminalist's latest installment and really need cheering up after that. So does Simon. 😓😔

[MudflapNichols]

If I were that unfortunate person on the elevator when the cable snapped, I would look down at the Earth, look back up at the vastness of space, and think to myself; "Well.... at least I didn't go out like David Carradine."

[CMDR_BB]

A Moon space elevator (running from the moon/lunar orbit to LEO) is far cheaper and easier for us to do right now.

While not quite as Game changing as and Earth to Orbit one, it would allow use to cheaply begin building the "Gas Station" and Space Mining out there that we will need if we actually want to get people into space.

LEO rockets could lift (basically) un powered cargo pods up to the end and bring others down as well.

The cable needs are way less (strength wise). Although there is always the (small) possibility of a space object hitting it, at least it will be above the "Trash Line" for the most part.

[thejudgmentalcat]

"That's terrifying...thanks for watching" 🤣

[robd]

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the idea of the Space Elevator involved two cables and two cars. One dropping as the other rose and their relatives motions providing the power for each other.

[thebaccathatchews]

Space elevators are nice, but I'd rather build a related structure: the Orbital Ring. Imagine a thin ring spinning faster than orbital speed. Now imagine a non-spinning ring acting as a magnetic sheath. It allows you stay in geostationary orbit without geostationary speeds or distances. You can build structures on them, like power stations, habitats, factories, launch systems. You can also build them at assorted altitudes and inclinations, with tethers dropping to various cities for orbital access. And the best parts? We can build them with current materials, and they start at 100km up, not 10s of thousands. Just a cable car ride to orbit.

[vic]

I first heard about this in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. I think the first book, Red Mars, takes place in 2035 or the 2040s and used carbon nanotubes. Good to know science has caught up with science fiction. The 2050 Timeline seens rather ambitious, but I'd be *thrilled* if it happened during my lifetime (I was born in 1980).

[jsbrads]

We can’t make a space elevator until we can mass produce flawless nanotube, molecular printing and enough power to cover the exterior of it with black diamonds molecularly bonded to the outside of it.
I envision it being a bit thicker than actually needed, a bit of redundancy, a safety factor, room for more cars to go up and down… and an Iron Dome type system at key elevations to protect the cable. One or two defensive systems in the atmosphere, and a few more in low orbit, a few more for the many many kilometers to GeoStation, and one or two for the counter weight side.

[finnydot]

Love how Simon has so much fun with this channel. I enjoy the other channels, but this one actually makes me laugh. Lol

[chrisharris]

In 3001: The Final Odyssey, Clarke describes the space elevator that he imagines exists by then in greater detail, with habitats staged as you ascend. Worth a read, Simon, if you haven't already? :)

[czb]

I don't want to sound too critical, because I love Simon's content, but I have a few notes/corrections to share.

I see several other SFIA fans in the comments, I'm sure any of which could tell you that you don't need to have the cable at the equator. You can instead have more than one cable as long as at least one cable is on each side of the equator. This allows multiple cities to have elevator cable access and redundancy if one cable were to fail.

Geosynchronous orbit is not the same as geostationary orbit, geosynchronous is an orbit where the orbiter passes over the same spot on the ground during each orbit. Geosynchronous orbits tend to look like a figure 8 from the perspective of someone on the ground. Geostationary is the orbit described in this video.

Low earth orbit is perhaps best expressed as a range of altitudes. The ISS averages 420km, well under the 2000km stated in the video.

[matthewlightwood]

There's this amazing book called "Dangerous" that deals with a space elevator that they called The Beanstalk. It's been SO long since I've read it and I can't quite remember who wrote it but it's a fantastic sci-fi book.
Edit: It's by Shannon Hale!!! Her books are marvelous

[JM-usfr]

It’s worth noting that the cable doesn’t need to be composed of single continuous molecules that stretch the entire length of the cable. They can actually be much shorter, and the friction between molecules can become so great that they hold each other together.

It’s also worth noting that carbon nanotubes aren’t the only material we could use. Graphene might be easier to produce, Boron Nitride nanotubes have comparable strength, and so do diamond nanothreads.

[Jayjay-qeum]

The concept is applicable to other planets and celestial bodies. For locations in the solar system with weaker gravity than Earth's (such as the Moon or Mars), the strength-to-density requirements for tether materials are not as problematic. Currently available materials (such as Kevlar) are strong and light enough that they could be practical as the tether material for elevators there.

[ishalef]

As space launch systems go. Space elevator is the least feasable. Orbital rings, active pillars or mass drivers might be better options.

[QBCPerdition]

The interesting thing about a space elevator is that it can also be used as a launch platform. That counterweight cable could be used, just like the one down to earth, with a climber hauling things to the counter weight. Once there, anything released would be flung off into space at high speeds. It's only along one plane, but that plane also happens to be where the other planets are located, as well as where our current rockets take off along, so it would dramatically reduce the cost of launching anything to Mars, Jupiter's moons, the asteroid belt, etc.

[dr_tails]

Glad I stumbled on this channel since fact boy is not linking it yet... getting real OG Business Blaze vibes and loving it!

[BabyMakR]

With the falling back to earth if it fails. Carbon nanotubes don't bend much, so as it falls it would start to bend and then shatter into small shards resulting in smaller mass particles. Also, it would be fairly simple to install explosives at regular intervals along the length to cut it into smaller sections. Any parts above ~40km would burn up in the atmosphere.

[Rendarth]

Wow, that is a MUCH longer length requirement than I had envisioned.