Pyramid Skyscraper To Orbit?
- Thread starter All Seeing Eye
- Start date
Quite true. And the Orbital Elevator idea has been around quite a while as well (and also featured in detail in that book series).
Actually, that series used a LOT of current science ideas. Was watching a recent "plan for colonies on the moon and beyond" tv show recently, and was suprised by how much in that show was also featured in Clarke's work.
Taking Taccys original "Pyramid to Orbit" theme literally, with no magelv (as per the original post, ain't no maglev there!) and attempting to construct a pyramid at which the apex of would allow items to be placed in orbit, here's the deal:
The pyramid has to be the 22,500 miles required the orbital relocity to match the rotational rate of the structure.
Taccy says the pyramid needs to have a 45 degree slope, so the base of said pyramid would be 22,500 miles in width and depth.
What's the circumference of the planet?
Diagram the structure and the planet it rests upon. (hint, draw a circle, then draw an equilaterial triangle where each face is about 3x the diameter of the circle. Arrange the triangle so that the middle of one face is touching the edge of the circle in one spot.)
The pyramid has to be the 22,500 miles required the orbital relocity to match the rotational rate of the structure.
Taccy says the pyramid needs to have a 45 degree slope, so the base of said pyramid would be 22,500 miles in width and depth.
What's the circumference of the planet?
Diagram the structure and the planet it rests upon. (hint, draw a circle, then draw an equilaterial triangle where each face is about 3x the diameter of the circle. Arrange the triangle so that the middle of one face is touching the edge of the circle in one spot.)
Never mind the other silly stuff... But I suspect a 75 mile high pyramid-ish building would have enough mass to seriously depress the planetary crust underneath it, potentially opening up a fault line. Not good. Unless you enjoy your building sinking into a lake of lava/magma.
Psstch, I say we just fix Lunar into a geosynchronous orbit with Terra, and make a giant cable from one to the other, and build stations, elevators and the whole whazoo on the joining cable. Let's be ambitous about this people'Aim for the moon, if you miss you'll still be among the stars' and all that jazz...though not literally with this hair-brained idea, you'll just have a cable leading to nowhere
Brilliant! All we need is a grappling hook with a really, really, really long rope attached!
I also suggest that the Earth end of the cable has a quick release, that way, we can throw the Moon at the invading aliens like a freaking huge bolas. Of course, the Earth would need to be fitted with spinner rockets so that we can build up enough speed and whatnot for the throw, but no expense can be spared for the defense of one's homeworld
Tachy does say in first post, however, that "orbit being in this case where the earth's atmosphere turns to vaccum" or words to that effect.
In otherwords, he doesn't want this hyper-pyramid to actually "put things in orbit" he just wants it tall enough to "be in space."
"Orbit", obviously, was poor, and foolish choice of words on his part.
He wants a pyramid to space, or the "edge of the atmosphere" (even though no such thing really exsists.)
In otherwords, he doesn't want this hyper-pyramid to actually "put things in orbit" he just wants it tall enough to "be in space."
"Orbit", obviously, was poor, and foolish choice of words on his part.
He wants a pyramid to space, or the "edge of the atmosphere" (even though no such thing really exsists.)
Maybe he should call Bob Truax then. I don't think he's doing much since he worked with Knevil at Snake River.
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
Give me a moment whilst my sides split with laughter.
I am pretty sure the foundation problems are far beyond anything we can build. They say we could not even duplicate the great pyramid with today's tech primarily because of foundation issues, much less a pyramid that is 75 miles high.
I'm not sure I get the bolded part. Why not? Has the earth's surface become softer in the last 4000 years?
Surely a pyramid built to the size of the Great Pyramid using today's technology would use much less mass than the original solid stone one. The Luxor hotel in Vegas is 350 feet tall. Not as large as the 481 feet of the Great Pyramid, but it is getting in the neighborhood.
Doesn't matter. Look at my avatar, and even that pyramid isn't quite 22,500 miles tall.
Well OK - to try and get some life out of the OPs slightly loopy idea let us consider how practical it would be to build a structure to 10,000 feet with useful internal space?
The new tower in Dubai looks set to finish short of 3,000ft (still enormous) so what chance for 3 times that?
All Seeing Eye
Admiral
Earths diameter is 75 miles?
The pyramid we're talking about if you were not aware would be 75 miles high and would have a base area roughly equivalent to the area of the country of Togo.
This was made clear on page one of this thread.
Just change the nature of water to allow it to be pumped 75 miles vertically.
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