In article , says...


And while KSR's elevator scene makes great imagery it has absolutely no
attachment in actual reality. Maybe at the time of the writing or in the
seventies when elevator cables needed to mega-giga-ton objects. But this is
the 21st century now and we have ideas about how to build real elevator
cables.

Nowadays elevator cables would be as dangerous as ticker-tape parades.

People, please do some research on the matter before making uninformed
comments in public.

http://www.liftport.com/pages/index....4a6d1c7628e060

http://www.isr.us/SEScienceFAQs.asp#2

http://www.isr.us/SEBEPFAQs.asp#4


Regards
Frank Scrooby
(who was awestruck by KSR's descriptions at least the first dozen times
round.)

If you go back and read Robinson's description, part of his point is
that the cable will need infrastructure along the way. Emergency
stops and supplies, sufficient structure for the cars to attach and
climb, the ability for cars to pass each other on the way up or down.
No matter how thin the whole thing is, there is still a lot of mass,
and it's going to be more than 23,000 miles tall--literally enough
to wrap all the way around the Earth. And the entire length of that
cable is vulnerable to attack.

A monofilament to space is a neat idea, but by itself it's nothing
but cute engineering tricks. Making it useful takes a lot more
investment that shows up in mass and exposure.

And that, as much as anything, is Robinson's point.

Diane