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[Fwd: Re: starship-design: Going Up? Space Elevator: Next Stop, EarthOrbit]



Hmmm -- a lightning rod . . .


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: starship-design: Going Up? Space Elevator: Next Stop, EarthOrbit
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 17:36:30 -0800 (PST)
From: "N. Lindberg" <nlindber@u.washington.edu>
Reply-To: "N. Lindberg" <nlindber@u.washington.edu>
To: KellySt@aol.com
Cc: starship design <starship-design@lists.uoregon.edu>

Neat article.  It seems like the nanotubes are the thing.  A question
though.  Since nanotubes are (as i recall) electricly conductive, do you
think it likely that friction with the atmosphere at lowerlevels, and
photoelectric charging in space would tend to induce currents in the
cable?  It seems reasonable to me that the potential between one part of
the cable and another could be quite high.  Comments?

Nels

_____________________________________________
Nobody's perfect, but we are working on it.
    -Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
    -Yogi Berra
_____________________________________________

On Tue, 2 Jan 2001 KellySt@aol.com wrote:

> 
> 
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/space_elevator_001226.html
> 
> Interesting short article on nanotube based skyhooks, which are now 
> considered more nearterm then I would have expected.
> 
> Kelly
> 
> 
> 
> ==========================================================
> Bradley Edwards, a physicist at Los Alamos National
>                   Laboratories in New Mexico, is a keen supporter of
> fabricating
>                   an elevator to space. He recently completed research on
>                   lengthy space elevators thanks to a NASA Institute for
>                   Advanced Concepts grant.
> 
>                   "The space elevator appears much closer to reality than 
has
>                   been suspected in terms of available technology, cost and
>                   schedule," Edwards said. "The major hurdle is the required
>                   carbon nanotubes, but that's getting closer each day," he 
> said.
> 
>                   Edwards has scripted a plan that suggests an operational
>                   cable to space can be installed within 10 to 20 years.
> 



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