NASA offers prize for 'space elevator'

Originally posted by Amorymeltzer

Originally posted by Hal9000
This ribbon would probably wrap around the Earth at the equator as it is rotating. It would be like wrapping a present on a large scale.

Nah, you spin the counterweight with it, stays insync. Besides, what kind of present has a line across the middle as it's wrapping?

This would be if the ribbon broke from the counter weight beyond 24kM, and was more of a joke. I doubt it would fall to Earth this way. Cheers.

I laugh whenever I hear about this idea. I teach a nanotechnology course, and we make carbon nanotubes as an experiment, and there's always a student who asks about this.

They're incredibly expensive, and we cannot even make them very long.

They're incredibly expensive, and we cannot even make them very long.

At the moment that is, Plastics took a couple decades to get to the market, it will be the same with CNT's. Allthough I don't think it will take as long as plastics did.

That's unreal. I'm such a coward when it comes to hieghts, knowing me, i'd faint just looking at the thing, let alone going on board. The elevator at the hospital scares me !!

Deep