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If those elevators worked they would actually solve a big engineering problem: Very High Buildings can only have a limited number of elevator shafts. But it tak
by chki 9y ago
If those elevators worked they would actually solve a big engineering problem: Very High Buildings can only have a limited number of elevator shafts. But it takes a significant time to use them which makes it problematic if there are a lot of people who want to go. But if elevators were able to travel horizontally that is a first step towards having multiple elevators in one shaft. There are still other problems that need to be solved in order to do this but if it works you can easily transport a lot of people in skyscrapers by having one "upwards" shaft and one "down" shaft which the elevator capsule can change between by moving horizontally.
- leeoniya 9y agoyou can have dedicated up and down shafts where the cars move horizontally only at the top and bottom, like a ferris wheel. without having them move horizontally at any floor. you just need a way to disconnect the rope (like ski lifts). or you can have towing cars that have only 50 ft of rope and operate on rails (like ships that get towed through Panama locks)
- russdill 9y agoThat means that all cars must traverse the entire distance and that all cars must wait each time a car reaches a floor.
- leeoniya 9y ago> That means that all cars must traverse the entire distance with a lot of cars in uni-directional shafts, is this really an issue? > all cars must wait each time a car reaches a floor maybe solved by a 2-lane shaft with a passing lane. very doable with rails or towing cars.
- icebraining 9y agoHow can you have multiple cars in a single shaft, using the rope system? To what would the second car from the ceiling be hanging on?
- leeoniya 9y ago> very doable with rails or towing cars.
- icebraining 9y agoAh, right. But then, isn't that what they've done here?