Is It Feasible To Create A Tower That Reaches Space?

[andytak3740]

Hello everyone, 

 

I have been researching space elevators for a novel and found out that there where many issues that revolved around the concept. Every depiction I see of them shows a flimsy and thin structure reaching off into space. With the draw backs of such a design, would it then be a better venture to invest in a sky scraper that reached space?

(...Space Scraper...) Then could you create a rail gun or coil gun like device that could launch cargo up an internal shaft? If you could launch it up into space, could we use it to launch probes or shuttles to the moon and other planets? 

 

 

[GAHD]

the reason theoretical space elevators are thin is because weight rapidly becomes a problem for the "base" The taller the building the more pressure put on it's foundation, and there's a point where it's just too much.

Some of the ideas to get around that have sky/space "hooks" dropping drown from geostationary orbit to high altitude platforms that you could "fly up to" witha plane before lifting to orbit.ot. the idea with those is you use something that's got very good tear/stretch resistance instead of relying on it to have compression resistance.

her designs use particle fountains to suspend parts of the elevator at the apex of pressurized streams of water or some other fluid.

All in all, building from the ground up rapidly becomes a weight where concrete turns to powder and steel gets under so much pressure it starts to (theoretically) compress like silly putty under a coffee cup at ground level.

[andytak3740]

So the cube square law is quite the downer. So there is nothing we have that can either withstand the compression or tensile pressure. So is there then a theoretical maximum height for mountains as well? If not could we create a synthetic mountain that reaches space and then construct atop of it? 

[fahrquad]

In the Arthur C. Clarke novel "Fountains of Paradise", the orbiting station was tethered to Earth with a diamond mono-filament.  Cargo and personnel would travel to orbit by elevator.  Unfortunately materials technology has not yet caught up with the imagination of the seer of Sri Lanka.  Info in wiki.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountains_of_Paradise

 

You might want to read the novel before proceeding with your own to avoid accusations of plagiarism.

Edited February 9, 2019 by fahrquad