Re:The Spaceline: a space elevator alternative achievable wi...
by eutropia on Friday September 06, 2019 @02:16PM
(#20898207)
"Let’s say such a line was made of a cable witha0=10−7m2: its total mass would then be around 40,000 kg. This is about twice the mass of the original lunar lander,and would make transporting and constructing such a cable completely plausible" -- From the linked paper.
Re:The Spaceline: a space elevator alternative achievable wi...
by pavel_lishin on Friday September 06, 2019 @12:35PM
(#20897121)
The moon weighs 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg.
That's 37,545,591,074 times your projected weight of the cable.
Re:The Spaceline: a space elevator alternative achievable wi...
by Rychard on Friday September 06, 2019 @01:15PM
(#20897545)
Is it valid to say this is the "weight" of the moon?
I would have assumed such measurements would deal exclusively with the moon's mass.
Are the two terms used interchangeably in this context? (honest question, I really have no idea)
Re:The Spaceline: a space elevator alternative achievable wi...
by pavel_lishin on Friday September 06, 2019 @02:45PM
(#20898548)
I'm using them interchangeably here, but you're right, it was sloppy - I should have said mass. (They're only equivalent on Earth, and even there a given mass's weight changes based on where you are!)
I think scrapping together enough material on earth to build this will be the first problem.
2.36 x10^8m for rough cylinder volume.
Steel weight would be 1,864,400,000,000 kg. Yes itd be a hybrid material. So, half of that? Maybe a quarter? That's not an insignificant amount of material at a 1m diameter cable. We haven't even gotten to labor costs and energy required.
I get astronomically, its insignificant. But I doubt it's going to have no effect.