To the cosmos by nanotechnology
Our title today refers to the 1960 article by Yuri Artsutanov in Pravda: ‘To the Cosmos by Electric Train’. This article is the granddaddy of all ’space elevator’ concepts and first to propose the idea that a cable-based transport system could become an alternative to rockets for launching people and payload into space. The single most difficult task in building the Space Elevator is achieving the required tether strength-to-weight ratio - in other words, developing a material that is both strong enough and light enough to support the up to 100,000 km long tether. Thanks to nanotechnology, this material has become available in the form of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The challenge ahead is to weave these raw CNTs into a useful form - a space worthy climbable ribbon. Assembling carbon nanotubes into commercially usable fibers is still one of the many challenges that nanotechnology researchers are faced with when trying to exploit the amazing properties of many nanomaterials.
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This post was written by admin on August 19, 2008
