If I tied a rope to earth and have it unsecured 420mi out in space. Will it stay straight up or will it sway?

Question

The question is for a hypothesis I want to develop, and I was hoping for someone with a background in Astrophysics or Physics. But ant answer is cool, I guess since I only can only wonder about the answer, I couldent think of any experiment or event where someone tied a rope to the Earth and leave it unsecured to anything 420mi up or any distance past our atmosphere and see what would happen. I was wondering...

Answer 1

Good Question... I always like to see people thinking "outside the box" :)

If there was 420 mile length of rope capable of remaining intact after being lifted 420 miles straight up, it would fall back to Earth quite quickly.

Mention has been made of geostationary orbit... well, in order for a "rope" to be secured it would have to be secured to something Beyond geostationary orbit or else it would pull that object down.... there would be a balancing act that would be needed... so the gravitational center of the weight of "rope" combined with the object it is secured to would be in a geosynchronus orbital position...

You would probably enjoy reading about the proposed Space Elevator... we don't have the technology to create one Yet but we hope to be able to do so some day :)

Here's a link about the Space Elevator concept:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator
The concept has also been referred to as a beanstalk, space bridge, space lift, space ladder, skyhook or an orbital tower.

Here are a few links that explains what is currently being done in the space elevator field:
http://www.elevator2010.org/
http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-elevator.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9454786/

Obviously, some serious thought has gone into this concept.

You can check out more at this Search link:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Space+elevator&btnG=Google+Search

Answer 2

Hypothetically, here is what would happen, assuming various points to which the rope could be secured. As a rope was the object in question, I will ignore the possibilities of it being rigid.
1. Were the rope secured at one of the poles, it would most likely remain virtually perpendicular to the planet's surface. There's nothing much in the way of resistance in space to cause it to trail behind the Earth.
2. Were it secured at the equator, it would rather quickly begin to wind itself around the Earth, although it wouldn't get very far. 420 miles is only about 1.75% the circumference of the earth at the equator.
3. Were it to be secured at a point neither at a pole or on the equator, what you would see would be a "spiraling" effect, as the Earth rotates, pulling the rope in towards the Earth. As I believe someone else pointed out, to really get the picture you'd need a MUCH longer hypothetical rope. 25000 to 50000 miles would do nicely. As it stands, 420 miles is much to short to get a good idea of what would happen in these situations.

Answer 3

First of all, the rope would break from its own weight...

Secondly, the rope would immediately fall if it was unsecured to something out in space that was pulling with enough force to overcome the pull of the Earth's gravity.

While I realize that this is a learning question for you, there are no 420 mile long ropes on the market these days...

To get an idea of my problem with your question, please look at two specs on any rope you wish to try this idea with...

1.) Weight of rope in Pounds per foot = ???
Multiply by 5,280 to determine pounds per mile = ???

2.) Breaking Strength of rope = ??? Pounds

Most ropes that I see on the market will break at fairly close to a half mile or mile of length when suspended vertically so that all of the weight of the rope hangs down. If you go up higher in breaking strength, the weight of the rope also increases which leaves you fighting with numbers, not getting a longer rope... You can easily test this at home and solve your curiosity... Tie all of the rope up into a large coil and suspend it from a strong tie point. You will begin to see the problem when you attempt to purchase your first mile of rope.

Answer 4

You Can Tie Equatorial Points, But The Upper Point Has To Be A Geostationary Point Above The Equator Which Is Much Higher Than 420 Miles

Answer 5

How can the rope stay in the present day interior the ambience without being tied to a pair evaluate area. A rope is unlike a mild beam or line of sight to be unaffected via earth's ecosystem. provided that the rope has 0 mass and adequate rigidity, can it proceed to be in the present day and if so, it behaves like a beam of sunshine (without the scattering that the mild undergoes). if so, how long the rope is would not count. It maintains to be in the present day.

Answer 6

Because the rope is not rigid, the free end would be pulled down to earth as the rope wraps around the globe due to the earth's rotation. The end of the rope would end up 420 miles east of the anchor point. The end of a rigid rope would describe a circular orbit due to the rotation of the earth.

Answer 7

i believe that if it was tied at the pole (along earth's rotational axis) it would have a chance of staying straight if the weight was somehow supported, otherwise gravity would act on the rope from the earth and pull it down to earth, so it wouldn't stay 420 miles up

and if it was tied at the equator, the spinning of the earth would cause it (because of its inertia) to trail behind the point on earth to which it was attached, like if you hold a ribbon in your hand and spin around in circles with your arms outstretched

Answer 8

The real problem would be whether the rope's weight pulls it back to Earth or if its centripetal force is great enough to keep it taut. If it were to be kept taut, then it would not sway in the Earths atmosphere, neither would it appear to fall behind the earth as the Earth rotates for it would be in geostationary orbit. If it were not taut, it's orbit would decay and it would fall back to Earth. This would depend on the mass of the rope.

Answer 9

Try getting an unsecured rope to remain vertical for a height of two feet and you will have your answer.