Inflatable Tower Could Climb To the Edge of Space 296
MonkeyClicker writes with mention of a proposal that could see an inflatable tower helping to carry people to the edge of space without the need for rocket propulsion. This would function in place of previous space elevator designs which featured a large cable and could be completed much faster, if proponents of the project are to be believed. "To stay upright and withstand winds, full-scale structures would require gyroscopes and active stabilization systems in each module. The team modeled a 15-kilometer tower made up of 100 modules, each one 150 meters tall and 230 meters in diameter, built from inflatable tubes 2 meters across. Quine estimates it would weigh about 800,000 tonnes when pressurized — around twice the weight of the world's largest supertanker."
Not same as elevator (Score:2, Insightful)
Note that this is would only extend a few tens of kilometers. It's to the edge of space, whereas a full elevator is aimed at getting *out* of Earth's gravity well.
They're solving two different problems and aren't really that comparable.
Re:Yah... (Score:3, Insightful)
Extra points ... (Score:1, Insightful)
Extra points for explaining why this is safer, easier or more useful than a tethered balloon!
Re:Yah... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not same as elevator (Score:3, Insightful)
15 km high superstructure? Pretty good place to start if you are working on a space-elevator-thingy.
Knowledge gained in its creation would be invaluable for future work on the space elevator.
Also, highest place you can put a telescope at without actually launching it into space.
And just imagine the radio coverage from that place.
A lot lower than a communication satellite but also sure as hell taller than the highest radio tower.
Re:Babel (Score:4, Insightful)
There was still the war of tabs vs. three spaces. Lest we forget those who fell in righteous indentation!
Wait... three !?
Re:Prior Art (Score:3, Insightful)
Um, no. Hot air balloons don't expand when you heat them up, otherwise the density of the air would remain at the external density and it wouldn't float. Notice how the hot breath you use when blowing up a balloon doesn't make it float.
Hot air balloons work because they DON'T expand. They let air out the bottom as the density drops.
You've got how it works ass-backwards. You heat the air to put LESS air into the balloon, not more.