"11:00 PM had my first bout of nausea; Rx took care of it. I feel wonderful. Absolutely no pain, I can't finish a sentence or remember words so Cary, Laura and Laurie did their best to understand what I am trying to convey. I usually get enough…"
 |
The World's Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!
We already have the technology to send trains into space, at a fraction of the cost of rockets
This is Startram, a proposed launch system that would use magnetic levitation trains, a 1000-mile tunnel, and a superconducting cable to reach low Earth orbit. Amazingly, we already have the technology to do it...at far less than the cost of rockets.
Gizmag has a great overviewof how Startram would work, but the basic idea is simple enough. Because maglev trains hover above their tracks and thus don't have to worry about friction, they are theoretically capable of going far beyond their current mark of about 350 miles per hour to reach the 20,000 miles per hour needed for orbital velocities. Of course, to safely accelerate humans to those speeds, you'd need a lot of track, not to mention a way to keep a hypersonic train from being ripped to shreds by the air around it. According to its engineers, a vacuum tube that's 1,000 miles long and simulates the lower air pressure of the mesosphere should do the trick.
While most of the tube would be at sea level, the exit point would need to be about 12 miles high. The same magnetic levitation technology used in the trains could also be used to suspend the tunnel that high in the air, as Gizmag explains:
Read the rest here.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Sarah Walton on -
The first comment on this story is worth reading. I also call shenanigans. I don't think they've thought their plan through.
-
-
Permalink Reply by Tom Sarbeck on -
Today's maglev trains run horizontally and require little power. Going into orbit requires enough power to defeat gravity. Is maglev capable?
-
-
Permalink Reply by Ben Roth on
-
Actually we don't have the tech to do it.
The tech we "could do it with now" is still far too expensive and I'm not sure we have the engineering skills we need to make a stable 12 mile high structure. Remember that Everest is only 8 miles high, so construction of a 12 mile high structure would be a serious challenge, not to mention the cost of buying/stealing the land needed to build it.
Unless/until the cost of construction comes down enough to compete with rockets, there needs to be a compelling reason to get this level of stuff into space. Right now we basically only use space for communication. The military does some spying, and there's the international space station, but none of these things requires more supply than rockets can easily accommodate. -
-
Permalink Reply by Nerdlass on -
There's an idea... if this is feasible someday, wouldn't it be prudent to build it on a high mountain peak? I also am concerned about the structural integrity of the structure as depicted in the artwork above. I'd almost suggest a spiral/helix, though it would need a good sized diameter in order to keep sufficient speed.
As well, it might have less strain to have a low-orbiting station with a port that extends into the atmosphere for docking. Then it would be a matter of using high-flight planes to dock. Spacecraft would be dealt with wholly in space.
My quirky imagination just sprang forth with the idea of thist artist's rendition of the space train --t-shirt gun! Whee! Okay. Silliness aside, I'm wondering if the people for this project took into consideration the strain on the structure... It's not like it's made of transparent aluminum. -
-
Permalink Reply by Ben Roth on
-
I read a scifi story once where they built one of these to the top of Everest.
Carbon nanotube structures are one of the ideas for making this or a space elevator feasible, but we don't know how to produce those cheaply in bulk or size yet. -
-
Permalink Reply by Steph S. on -
Agreed ... good sci-fi book or movie though ... oh and it did make a very good picture
-
-
Permalink Reply by Richard ∑wald on -
Ahhh… the Railgun.
Patent number: 1421435
Filing date: Apr 1, 1919
Issue date: Jul 4, 1922
Where this makes a lot more sense is; …on the Moon. A solar powered railgun for sending mined raw materials to Lagrange Points for processing into fuel, oxygen, building materials, etc.
…Unfortunately, it would also make a very potent WMD.
-
-
Permalink Reply by Jessica Berman on -
The fact it would make a great WMD means the research is probably going on now under DoD and DARPA funding. We seem to think science funding is great if we can use it to kill people but not to help people.
-
CONNECT WITH ATHEIST NEXUS
Latest Activity
- Top News
- Everything
John Hutcheson posted a blog postAre the media too giddy over the Pope?
With all the media attention the on the Pope, important stories are being missed, human rights violations, Monsanto protection act, Russia march to blasphemy laws, and of the big story this week did Harry Potter vanquish dementors?See More
Ian Mason commented on Ruth Anthony-Gardner's group Hang With Friends"The medical profession seems to have improved in some areas at least. Personally I think some of that is due to the higher level of education of society as a whole. We know too much to put up with bad treatment now. I saw a documentary last year…"
Nerdlass replied to Ruth Anthony-Gardner's discussion Cicadas taste like asparagus in the group THE KNIFE & FORK"Thanks. Now I have "Glory of Love" stuck in my head. ^^;
I'm not sure if I could get used to eating bugs. It's like... if they're mudbugs or sea-bugs, that's one thing, but it's hard to imagine them tasting good…"
Nerdlass commented on Debra Stevenson's blog post Some Wiccans and their seeking approval from Christians"I converted to paganism (through wicca, but didn't stay there) from xianity. During that conversion period, I tried to reconcile the beliefs, which ultimately, I couldn't. There are some who find a way (probably used to cherry picking, so…"
Hiram replied to Hiram's discussion Epicureanism: a Secular Doctrine for Happiness"There are currently two Gardens of Epicurus: one in Chicago and one in New Jersey. Please visit if you're in the vecinity!"
Hiram commented on Maruli Marulaki's group Epicurean Atheists"There are currently two Gardens of Epicurus: one in Chicago and one in New Jersey. Please visit if you're in the vecinity!"
© 2013 Atheist Nexus. All rights reserved. Admin: Richard Haynes.
