Would it be possible to tether something from earth's surface to outer space?

Answer 1

It's definitely possible.

Once upon a time, physics textbooks routinely had this as a problem - and the answer was supposed to be "no" because no material was strong enough to support the weight of the entire length of cable from ground level to earth orbit. Technology has now advanced to the point where materials of the necessary strength and lightness exist.

No doubt there would be plenty of technical difficulties in building the "space elevator", but there are people actively working on it. See the sourced link for details.

Answer 2

Not with current materials. 400 miles of cable is very weighty and heavier than anything we are capable of sending into space. If we got it up there, the object in space would have to orbit much faster than the earth's rotation to keep it there so, where do you tie the tether on earth? The only option is to build something 400 miles high. This seems more possible.

How long would it take an elevator falling just slightly slower than gravitational propulsion to travel 400 miles and how much force would it take to gradually ssssssslow and eventually stop the elevator as it reached the surface?

Answer 3

Yes.

The problem is that the object being tethered needs to be about 23,000 miles out, to stay above the same location on the Earth's surface. The bottom part of the cable needs to support the load of all that cable, and no material we have in large quantities is strong enough. The only stuff that is strong enough has only been made as a tiny piece, and we don't know how to make a large one.

More info:

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

Answer 4

No, it is moving at a tremendous speed. So fast we can't see it move. There is only a small window where you can leave the planets surface. Anything that doesn't go through it is burned up.
Explodes or other wise. Why not just send it out into space and let it orbit the earth? At a certain spot gravity holds it in place.
or it just stays up there like the space station.

Answer 5

Yes, that is possible if we have a strong enough tether. NASA is even researching the idea because carbon nanotubes may be strong enough to make the required tether.

Answer 6

I don't think so.

For one, with gravity how would they get that high, unless it was something very thick and hard, otherwise it would just cave in with the weight once it got so high, like a mile I would think, or less.

Also, wouldn't it burn where space meets the earths atmoshere?

I don't know, but then again I never took astronomy.

Answer 7

no longer likely. living organisms are fairly fragile. it somewhat is possible that complicated organic and organic molecules have been presented by way of meteors or comets, yet existence could be destroyed by way of the flexibility generated by way of atmospheric get right of entry to and impact (despite if complicated *nonliving* molecules which incorporate prions can stay to tell the story many hundreds of tiers intact). the 1st lifeforms in the international, shall we call them NSMs, have been very practically certainly formed terrestrially. this does not mean introduction by way of a supernatural tension. It only ability that existence maximum probable did no longer originate in area.

Answer 8

I don't think you could do it without being electricuted. You would connect the upper part of the atmosphere to the ground. It would be a gigantic lightining rod. Not only that, it would have a huge impact on the weather.

Answer 9

No, the weight of the tether would bring it crashing down.

Answer 10

I think it would be possibly stupid. What would the effect of the electricity in the Earths atmosphere have on anything like this? Wouldn't it be like a really long grounding cable? Whatever happened to repulsive magnetic force?