What we need for the beanstalk (not a giant)

[Plane]

NANOTUBE SEEDS
Chemists at Rice University (Houston, TX) devised a method for cutting
carbon nanotubes into "seeds" and using those seeds to sprout new
nanotubes. The findings offer hope that seeded growth may one day
produce the large quantities of pure nanotubes needed for dozens of
materials applications. The nanotube seeds are about 200 nanometers
long and one nanometer wide.

After cutting, the seeds underwent a series of chemical modifications.
Bits of iron were attached at each end, and a polymer wrapper was added
that allowed the seeds to stick to a smooth piece of silicon oxide.
After burning away the polymer and impurities, the seeds were placed
inside a pressure-controlled furnace filled with ethylene gas. With the
iron acting as a catalyst, the seeds grew spontaneously from both ends,
growing to more than 30 times their initial length in just a few
minutes.

For more information, visit: http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20061128A6

[Diane]

Well we all know that beans cause gas.

But seriously, it will be interesting to see how this works out.  I am sure cost is (as always) the "giant" factor in all of this.

Let's not forget that our oil issue is one of economics.   There is oil all around, it is just a lot harder (expensive) to pull it out of the ground.

[Brassmask]

Well we all know that beans cause gas.

But seriously, it will be interesting to see how this works out.  I am sure cost is (as always) the "giant" factor in all of this.

Let's not forget that our oil issue is one of economics.   There is oil all around, it is just a lot harder (expensive) to pull it out of the ground.

If we used something like soy beans to make fuel, getting oil out of the ground wouldn't be an issue.

[Diane]

[/quote]

If we used something like soy beans to make fuel, getting oil out of the ground wouldn't be an issue.

[/quote]

now there you go - only looking at one side of the issue.  2 things impact soybeans...

1. not enough rain
2. too much rain (because they need to dry before harvest)

Both of these things are NOT totally in our control.  Let's just consider those two possibilities.  As it stands the lions share of our soybean crop goes to China. 

Consequently, I think that we need several options to supply our fuel.  Especially if those options are Earth related.

My guess is that even if we found a way of making fuel out of our garbage we would still gobble it up so that we would be chanting 'garbage shortage.'

[Plane]

There is a potential for the beanstalk itself to generate power.


The tether can provide a mechanical connection between two space objects that enables the transfer of energy and momentum from one object to the other, and as a result they can be used to provide space propulsion without consuming propellant. Additionally, conductive space tethers can interact with the Earth's magnetic field and ionospheric plasma to generate thrust or drag forces without expending propellant.

http://www.tethers.com/TethersGeneral.html


* Following the two Gemini experiments in 1966, in 1992, to investigate more advanced uses of tethers, NASA flew a space shuttle mission that attempted to deploy the ASI (Italian Space Agency) "Tethered Satellite System (TSS)". The TSS was a 550 kilogram spacecraft that was to be wound out on a 20 kilometer long conductive tether. One of the main objectives of the experiment was to investigate electrical power generation, and both the satellite and the shuttle carried plasma-generation gear to allow the circuit to be completed through the ionosphere. Unfortunately, the tether feed mechanism jammed during deployment, and the experiment was a failure.

In 1996, NASA and the ASI tried again. TSS was successfully wound out from the space shuttle to its full 20 kilometer length, and generated 3,500 volts at ampere-level current. However, the tether's insulation was damaged, and an arc flashed between the tether and the shuttle's deployment boom, breaking the tether. This was a disappointment, but the experiment had achieved most of its goals before the mishap. There were also two secondary benefits. First, current levels were twice what had been expected. Second, when the satellite was released, it popped up to an orbit 140 kilometers above the shuttle, demonstrating the use of tethers for orbital insertion.





 One of the conceptually simplest, if seemingly silly, ideas for space propulsion is to simply winch a payload up in space on a cable. Despite the seeming absurdity of the idea, it is being taken seriously, and in fact has been tested in several space experiments. Such a "space tether" can in principle be used for a surprising range of applications, such as payload transfer, power generation, and orbital propulsion. This chapter discusses present space tether technology and its future possibilities.

http://www.vectorsite.net/tarokt_5.html

Space elevator research took off again in the late 1990s, buoyed by two related events. The first was excitement that carbon nanotubes, first widely studied starting in 1991, might represent the holy grail of cable materials. Carbon nanotubes, essentially long cylindrical molecules of diamond, derive tremendous strength from their network of carbon bonds. The highest tensile strength measured in lab tests for nanotubes is some fifty times stronger than steel. Because of the exponential dependence of cable size on tensile strength, a 50x increase in strength decreases the required maximum cable diameter by tens of thousands of times, resulting in a far more managable few meters across. Actually creating nanotube ropes thousands of kilometers long with this level of performance remains a challenging goal, however, and all large cables to date fall far below the strength demonstrated by single, microscopic nanotubes.

But spurred on by the possibility that nanotubes might be the answer, the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) began cautiously pouring some money into the area.

http://www.strangehorizons.com/2006/20061113/perrin-c.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator

http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2003-05-23/288.asp


Admittedly, at least for now, the idea of a beanstalk-like space elevator connecting Earth and space is a stretch.


But next month’s X Prize Cup will host the Space Elevator Games, an unprecedented challenge for today’s engineers looking at ways to alter the future of access to space.

http://www.space.com/news/060929_xprize_cup_elevator.html

http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/TETHER/SpaceTowers.html