I used the formula: E = 0.5*I*omega^2 Since I'm assuming a ring shape, all the mass is on the outside so I = m*R^2. So: E/m = 0.5*R^2*omega^2 R^2*omega^2 is...
If I remember correctly, the lowest altitude where you can drop yourself into a stable orbit is about 25,000 km. That puts you in a highly elliptical orbit...
The penalty of 40% might be a bit high. I wrote a program which compared the times required for a solar powered or laser powered climber to get to an altitude...
... Note how Edwards pretty much assumes that he can buy a 1MW laser power beaming system from a company called Compower. The Compower website does not seem to...
Hey Folks, I've got a father-in-law that's reach the age where he suddenly wishes to leave his mark on the world for posterity. He's an engineer and is ...
... This sounds very good. You did not mention many assumptions that should go into such a program: 1) Did you assume the climber starts at dawn? 2) Is climber...
Here is an interesting article on the gas turbine industry: http://www.memagazine.org/april07/features/fahrenheit/fahrenheit.html Note in particular the closed...
A few days ago I added a quiz to this page, http://www.draaisma.net/space-tourism/moon_base_landing.php and just now added some explanations to the results...
... Yep, it starts at dawn and continues until "nightfall". The main issue is that as you go higher, the night fraction (proportion of time spent in Earth's...
I have to agree with Andreas. There is a ton of information on the web discussing the pros and cons of the space elevator. You need to it review to be taken...
... In your question #2, you seem to be missing the fact that sunlight comes from a particular direction, such that spacecraft can be kept cool by turning the...
... I am not sure what the requirements are for laser launch, but for solar concentrators, aluminized mylar foil stretched over a large ring shaped frame...
Helios uses a regular solar cell array, though. What we are claiming is that you can get more power per weight using lightweight concentrators. This could be a...
... To approaches to consider: 1) Instead of the wing reflecting sunlight up to a collector, the wing could be a lens focusing sunlight on the collector. I'm...
Those are good ideas. I think, though, that even the finest fresnel lens would still be much heavier than mylar foil, and while wing shape certainly is a...
... efficiently ... a function, but not proportional ... Maybe an updated version of the atomic plane where the reactor is replaced with solar collectors might...
... Yes, but the same goes for the photoelectric climber. If power and efficiency are similar, so is the need for waste heat removal, regardless of the...
In the explanation of question #2 I wrote that how cooling is to be done, is an other question. You're quite right with turning white and dark sides, but that...
Here are my comments: As to http://www.socialtext.net/wikinomics/index.cgi?elevator_to_space Under: Cable taper, it says: "In an ideal cable, the actual...
... It appears to mean that the stretching force the cable is subjected to, varies over its length.This is in direct conflict with Newton's third law. If the...
Would it be possible to add your feedback to the wikinomics site? Liftport's plan is to use this site as the knowlodge base for the SE effort Cheers, Bert...
I wonder if specific power (Watts per Kg) would be a better figure of merit than end to end efficient. Of course any system with high efficiently may also have...
... Good, it looks like you studied a little bit more this time. Unfortunately, you still flunked, because you got these two key questions wrong. Perhaps next...
... Check out this little tidbit about the Voyager probes: In addition to the two power generators, the spacecraft will carry 129 tiny plutonium heater units...
For a Martian Space Elevator, the moon Phobos seems to be a problem. Its orbit is at only 1 degree from the equator. Phobos would come very close to colliding...
... Has anyone mentioned to you that, in addition to having several of the answers wrong, your explanation for 5. What is the height of a space-elevator on the...
Hi Jolly Roger, I quite like that solution, though here in Scotland the Mars Society is working on another. After changing Deimos' orbit to Mars geosynch you...
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