🚀 go-pugleaf

In sci.space, chris@chrism.demon.co.uk (Chris Marriott) writes:

> The "space elevator" - basically dropping a cable from a geosynchronous
> satellite to Earth (and, of course, another one upwards so the centre of
> mass stays still) is probably the most *lethal* device one might conceive
> of building!  Imagine the cable breaks near the mid-point.  You have 38000km
> of cable falling to earth at *orbital* velocities, enough to wrap itself
> around the entire equator of the planet!  Go figure out the kinetic energy
> involved.  How much ocean would it vaporize?  Massive medium-term climatic
> changes at best - "nuclear winter" scenarios.  A new Ice Age a distinct
> possibility.

Most of the cable would vaporize long before it could do any damage.  The 
cable doesn't mass enough to survive reentry.  That is why we can have so many
meteors hitting earth at orbital velocities and not even notice.

Of course the first few miles of it would survive, which would be an 
impressive fall (!), but probably not disasterous if it lands in the ocean.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian Rauchfuss (Smokefoot)  "... the world could change in the blink
brian@hpfcbdr.fc.hp.com           of an eye."