Munching Space Cakes on a Space Elevator

I'm writing from Querétaro where Karla is presenting at an environmental education conference, and am intrigued by the latest news to come out of the scientific community: Japan's commitment to spend 5 billion pounds building a space elevator, according to Shuichi Ono, chairman of the Japan Space Elevator Association as reported in London's Times newspaper. those who aren't fans of science fiction, a space elevator basically involves a long ribbon reaching from Earth to a station in geosynchronous orbit, which vehicles will then pass up and down.

You might think this is impossible, and it is -- at the moment. Advances in nanotechnology may make it feasible pretty soon, however, and the fact that Japan has plonked 5 billion pounds on the table raises it from the desktop meanderings of university researchers to a serious endeavour.

There have been some concerns raised about the concept of the space elevator, such that if the ribbon was severed too high up it would fall down like a whip, lashing vast areas of the globe. This has been pooh-poohed by most scientists working on the project, who argue that if we're prepared to take the risk of creating a black hole just to bang a few particles together we should be willing to risk a carbon nanotube ribbon falling from the sky.

I say go for it: It's worth the risk. For starters, the space elevator will create some drag as it goes through the atmosphere, and will thus slightly slow the rotation of the Earth. One won't make much difference, but if you think all the super-powers are going to let Japan have a monopoly on the elevator to space you know less about human psychology than the average chimp. Several other projects are already underway (well, given a boost in legitimacy at least) with NASA inevitably getting involved. Several space elevators will slow the rotation of the Earth even more, which will lengthen the day which in turn brings us to the biggest issue this raises. Will this extra time be spent working or playing? I know which one I want, and I know which one your bosses want... now's the time to start unionising and lobbying politicians.

Another benefit is that none of the land suitable for basing a space elevator -- ie, along the equator -- lies in the developed world. Assuming that plans to have a floating base come to naught you're looking at South America, Africa or South East Asia. I'm not sure how much land would be required but I'd be setting the rent pretty damn high.

Published by JEQP.

SMH