In article , Ron Webb wrote:

The tensions are unimaginably high at the hub, but at ground level (at the
ends of the tether), they are zero. A typhoon
would be a BIG problem.

Huh? There'd be no reason to make a system with zero tension at the ground,
and a lot of reasons not to. I'd assume the tension would be quite large for
purposes of stability as well as so the loads going up don't pull the whole thing
down. Certainly one engineering consideration would be making sure the
largest conceivable typhoon would be a non-issue.

From a standpoint of aviation, the biggest concern would be finding enough
red lights so you could put three of them at each hundred foot level, and hiring
enough guys to keep changing them. I make that 9.9 million bulbs.

Of course, they could change the lighting regulations, but if it only takes twenty
years to build the elevator, they might have to put them on anyway....

Mike Beede


Mike Beede