"Jorge R. Frank" wrote:

Joe Strout wrote in news:joe-
:

In article ,
Richard Lamb wrote:

Is that 62,000 mile figure a typo or intended?

It's intended (that's the approximate altitude of geosynchronous orbit).

Actually, it's more than twice the altitude of geosynchronous orbit.
Remember, the elevator must extend below *and above* GEO, such that the
center of gravity is above GEO.

a 62 mile tower is probably not much of a moment problem
(compared to 8000 mile planet diameter).

But 62,000? There's a tail wagging the dog!

I'm not sure what a moment problem is, but a space elevator doesn't
violate any fundamental laws of physics. (But note that it's not really
a tower, i.e. a compression structure; it's in tension.)

And it's not a "tail wagging the dog", either - its mass is miniscule
compared to the Earth. I'm not quite sure what Richard was getting at with
that remark.

--
JRF


Sorry Jorg, but it really is. At least if it's attached to the Earth.

Even a fairly light weight times a humongous arm = massive moments.
And this things' arm is about 7.75 times the diameter of earth.

To help visualize what I'm talking about, take a golf ball and stick
a 9 or 10 inch long piece of very thin stiff wire on one side.

Now spin it. Or try to...

Guys, this isn't even rocket science, just basic aircraft style
weight and balance applied to a rotating body.



Richard Lamb