Today, I give my presentation about the static deformation of the space elevator tether due to the presence of a climber. I have decided to open the talk with a picture of the CN tower. You see, its been a foggy week of weather in Toronto, and I have taken some time to stare up at the tower from its base. The top of the tower disappears into the fog - no end in sight. The sight appeals to me for obvious reasons, so I have to mention it to the other space elevator aficionados in attendance. Imagine a time, decades from now, when there will be no end in sight to such a structure, even on the clearest day.
I present a summary of my most recent research. One of the most surprising things is that this fundamental mechanical analysis had not been documented yet. You station a climber at some location on the tether, and what will the new equilibrium state of the tether be? Will it stretch more or less and in what locations? What are the changes in stress and tension throughout the tether?
The results are as follows:
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
IAC 2014 - Day 3: An Independent Review of the Mars One Proposal
I know I should be writing about day 3 here, but yesterday, after submitting my day 2 entry, I attended perhaps the most compelling symposium of the conference; it was all about manned missions to Mars. I can say with some confidence that nothing today will top it, so this entry will focus entirely on the exciting presentations that took place yesterday afternoon.
Most of the conference rooms hold about 150 people in it, and it is rare that a room is more than half full. But I had a feeling that this symposium about Mars missions would draw interest, and sure enough, it spilled out the back of the room. The first few talks were rather benign: A plan to land on Mars by 2030, recommendations by several experts in the field on planning the first mission, and a commentary on the social and legal structure of the first Martian society (nothing more compelling than reading the novel Red Mars).
The fourth presentation was introduced by the session chair as 'something special', and he was right. Five students from M.I.T. wrote a paper challenging the proposal for Mars One.
Most of the conference rooms hold about 150 people in it, and it is rare that a room is more than half full. But I had a feeling that this symposium about Mars missions would draw interest, and sure enough, it spilled out the back of the room. The first few talks were rather benign: A plan to land on Mars by 2030, recommendations by several experts in the field on planning the first mission, and a commentary on the social and legal structure of the first Martian society (nothing more compelling than reading the novel Red Mars).
The fourth presentation was introduced by the session chair as 'something special', and he was right. Five students from M.I.T. wrote a paper challenging the proposal for Mars One.
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