View of earth from the "bitter end" of the space elevator tether: 
Yowza!
Posted on 03/07/2006 4:52:01 AM PST by Neville72
(Business 2.0) - Every world-changing wonder has to begin somewhere. But it would be hard for the space elevator to have a less auspicious start than it got last October in a foggy office parking lot in Mountain View, Calif. This was the setting for the first Space Elevator Games, sponsored by NASA, which offered a $200,000 prize to the first team that could make a machine climb up a 164-foot tether, powered by nothing but a mirror and a beam of light from a 10,000-watt bulb.
A short ride
In fact, none of the home-brewed contraptions on display could reach higher than 40 feet. The device that got the most attention was built by Vince Lopresti, a wheelchair-bound Texan, and that's because he made it from an old wheelchair frame. Ask him why he did it, and he gazes skyward. "I'm doing it to get off this rock," he says with a smile.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
At least the CNN page has a graphic. I've been wondering for years how this was supposed to look. How big would that counterweight be, anyway? What happens when something runs into the cable?
The asteroid as a counterweight idea has gone by the wayside. Calculations have shown that the weight of the ribbon itself and the climber that constructs it out to the 62,000 mile limit are sufficent weight to serve that function
The problem I see with this idea is that carbon fiber is conductive. Place a conductor into an electromagnetic field and you make a generator. This whole thing would have a huge charge on it once in place. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near the business end of this thing when it's in place.....
View of earth from the "bitter end" of the space elevator tether: Yowza!
Think of the environmental impact study scenarios: a) big pile of string; b) ball of yarn; c) slingshot; d) lightning rod extraordinarie; e) de-winger
"I wonder, though, if an object was carried to the end of the device, which is presumably orbiting as fast as the Earth's rotation, if it then could be let go like a giant sling shot - possibly allowing travel to the moon..."
There has been much discussion of that specific topic. Future space craft going to the moon, Mars, asteroid belt or beyond would use the elevator as a slingshot. The savings alone on weight needed to get the craft to earth orbit would be tremendous.
There is your power source.
Will these guys ever try to analyse the engineering hurdles and strength of materials problems? For instance: the elastic properties of the 62 THOUSAND MILE "ribbon", i.e., strain or percent elongation, alone, make the concept little more than a foolish pipe dream. Go figure.
Further - think Mars, Asteroid Belt, outer solar system .. Brian Dunbar System Administrator Liftport
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.