http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspxWith just two weeks left before the Space Elevator Games in New Mexico, advocates of the space elevator concept have come out with two publications outlining their ideas and the challenges ahead. One is a revised road map for building what is basicallyen-USCommunityServer 2.0 (Build: 60608.1)http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#6071Sat, 07 Oct 2006 05:37:45 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:6071Brian Dunbar, Neenah, Wi"How on earth did they come up with that title?" It should be noted the full title is "Liftport: Opening Space to Everyone".http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#6108Mon, 09 Oct 2006 03:54:42 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:6108Philip Ragan, Perth, AustraliaMore information on the book is at www.leavingtheplanet.com http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#6253Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:57:57 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:6253Chris AllingtonI'm sure Edwards and Ragan have already dealt with this question, but what about thermal expansion and contraction as the elevator passes into and out of the Earth's shadow? Is the amount of thermal stress insignificant compared with the tension already in the tower? Or would it cause the tower to bounce up and down, in a kind of geosynchronous ellipse?http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#6489Tue, 10 Oct 2006 22:51:06 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:6489Loren, northern CaliforniaI'm sure Muzak would love to be a corporate sponsor...http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#6543Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:13:25 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:6543Kelleigh LonidierThis is a structure that I have a hard time imagining. Would this be a structure like a tower? I keep reading about tethers. Please don't laugh at me but is the tether droped from above all the way to the ground? I also don't understand the high altitude balloons as an intermediate step. Someone please draw us laymans a picture.... Also would these sturctures be built at the equator? I've read Isac Asimov but in one of the books the space elevator was like an extremely tall building with people occupying the space in the structure and seemed like something atleast hundreds of years beyond what we could engineer today. So please explain what this would look like if we could look 60 years into the future.http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#6546Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:14:42 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:6546Eddie BeeA layman would assume, without any authorative evidence, that the further any stationery object protudes into space, the more it is sensitive to the rotation of the earth and to cosmic bombardments from micro to macro sized objects travelling through space.http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#6814Wed, 11 Oct 2006 15:38:05 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:6814A Bell, Boston MATo a well educated but a science clueless person like myself, the space elevator race is just fascinating. Can someone explain to me however, why it is not possible to a) ride up a laser or b) tap into the earth's magnetic / gravitational forces ? As previously mentioned, Scientifically Clueless. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#7014Thu, 12 Oct 2006 19:01:51 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:7014Alan Sheets, Loveland COA. Bell: re your 1st question... you could ride a laser up, but it would have to be really big to have enough thrust to lift you. It works along the same lines of an ion thruster -- each second of thrust is really small, but you can thrust a really long time to compensate. However, you need to overcome gravity and inertial 1st. As for your 2nd question -- we don't know how yet. We can use gravity as a method to change course, but we don't know how to create it or modify its effects yet. http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/06/6051.aspx#7037Thu, 12 Oct 2006 22:01:40 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:7037John O'BrienFor a good intro to what's involved, see http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aug05/1690 it's got a picture, too. To Kelleigh: The structure would be a very big rock in geosynch orbit. Attached to the rock is a long ribbon (the tether) stretching from the rock to the ground. it is not a tower, rather a ribbon hanging from the rock to the ground, where it would be anchored. you climb the ribbon to get to the rock.