On Dec 8, 11:48*pm, Quadibloc wrote:
On Dec 8, 11:30*pm, |"

wrote:
Maybe ok for some hardware but not for fleshware.

It's the degree of acceleration that could be a problem for our frail
mortal flesh - not the velocity reached at the end. 16,000 mph is
orbital velocity (going around the 24,000 mile circumference Earth in
90 minutes), and that will have to be reached eventually. Of course,
to launch people into orbit, that implies a _really long_ railgun. And
it also needs to open to the atmosphere at a high altitude, so that
the air doesn't look like a brick wall to the vessel.

Since gravity is down, and the acceleration is nearly horizontal, 3g
of acceleration plus gravity is felt as about 3.16g (square root of
10) instead of 4g by the passengers. If we suppose that this can be
tolerated by the astronauts and passengers to be transported, this
acceleration of about 30 m/sec^2 would be required to be endured
for... 50 thousand minutes or 833 hours? Either I've made a mistake
somewhere, or this really is quite impractical. The ramp would have to
girdle the Earth several times; I was thinking in terms of one perhaps
400 or 1,000 miles long - a prodigious engineering undertaking, to be
sure, but not one that would be positively ludicrous.

John Savard

On the bright side such set ups would be shorter on Mars or
the Moon. Of course, such a set up would require a industrial
base on either I'd think.

Any chance to use a mountain range as the range? I suppose
Asia would the only place of it?

Given that astronauts survive rocket shots I think shorter
systems around 200 miles maybe possible. Provided
they can take the turn as they start to go more upwards.

coffee is ready....................Trig