..hang a wandering skyscraper from asteroid orbiting Earth

Daily Mail ^ | 23:36 BST, 27 March 2017 | Stacy Liberatore

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Same way you got up there the first time.

[Defiant]

I recently completed the book SevenEves by Neal Stephenson. It involved detailed description of this type of system, and systems for connecting a suspended city to earth for transfer of people and goods, so you don’t have to parachute out to go back to earth. If anyone is interested in this topic, it would be a good read.

[Boogieman]

I would be more worried about the giant asteroid impacting the earth when its orbit inevitably decays.

Maybe the dinosaurs tried out this plan before we did :)

[Ozark Tom]

So who will underwrite liability?

[Ozark Tom]

Interaction with lunar / solar tidal force? Might bob up and down.

[Ozark Tom]

Actually the center of mass might be in GEO orbit; but, the asteroid must be farther out to balance whatever structure is suspended by the tether.

[Ozark Tom]

Change the load mass (building), or distribution of the mass, within the space elevator system, and the orbit will change.

With enough velocity, the tether would vaporize while transiting through the atmosphere.

[Candor7]

So who will underwrite liability?>>>>>>>>>>>>

Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

[Candor7]

how would the plumbing work in a building like this?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Vacuum feed, settling tanks, dump over the ocean.
Slurpy toilets? LOL.

[Ozark Tom]

Given that any part of a structure is being dragged through a fluid, energy is dissipated. That energy comes from the kinetics of the mass moving in a forced-orbit (asteroid counter-mass).

The lower end of the system is moving at less velocity than orbital for that altitude—the upper end is moving at higher velocity than needed for that orbital level. Center-mass is the only point of the structure which travels at the appropriate velocity for it’s orbital level.

Tidal accelerations increase geometrically as the distance between two bodies decreases. The tidal bulge of the Earth is always to the East of a line connecting the centers of the Earth and Moon, providing the small acceleration raising the Moon’s orbit. Will eventually lose the total solar eclipse sometime down the line.

[Telepathic Intruder]

Your second paragraph describes the stretching effect of tides. A more subtle effect is the squeezing one, which is the result of gravity always being focused at the center of mass.

Your third paragraph is basically correct except that it's missing the reason that the bulge is east of the line connecting the earth and moon. As the earth spins, that bulge is being carried east faster than the moon is able to orbit. This is also slowing the earth's spin slightly as well as accelerating the moon's orbital speed. Eventually the earth's spin will be synchronized with the moon's orbit, and the moon will no longer recede. But the sun will be long dead by then. Likely the earth will have been swallowed by the sun's red giant phase as well.

[TXnMA]

"...the only way to leave is by parachute."

..and, how do all the occupants get into the thing?

~~~~~~~~

As I said on another thread, in Texas, we say that folks like the one(s) who came up with this imbecility are "Plumb eat slap up with the dumb@$$!!"...

[Candor7]

..and, how do all the occupants get into the thing? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

http://www.designboom.com/technology/jet-capsule-identified-flying-object-03-23-2017/

[TXnMA]

I saw that and watched the video earlier. Cute...

Looks to me that the slightest lateral motion on landing (wind gust, etc.) would result in bent/jammed landing struts/shocks...

Since much of that "building" extends above the navigable atmosphere -- my question still stands.

(And no one yet has mentioned the gravity gradient...)

Is this idiocy what results when you seat a recent, science-ignorant, "Snowflake" graduate in front of a CAD terminal?

[Candor7]

Looks to me that the slightest lateral motion on landing (wind gust, etc.) would result in bent/jammed landing struts/shocks... >>>>>

Relax. Gyro-stabilizers.

[TXnMA]

"Relax. Gyro-stabilizers."

Better have one heck of a narrow hysteresis loop... '-)