3 ms·
So what happens if the cable snaps? I assume this would happen at the height of a geostationary orbit where tension is the highest. And this is an ungodly tensi
by gpsx 12y ago
So what happens if the cable snaps? I assume this would happen at the height of a geostationary orbit where tension is the highest. And this is an ungodly tension so I assume it would be pretty violent. On top of that the cable will not fall straight down because the top of the cable is traveling much faster than the bottom (you could view this as the coriolis effect). It seems you would have 22,236 miles of cable wrapping itself around the earth.
- badsock 12y agoIt's more of a ribbon than a cable - it would float gently down.
- gpsx 12y agoThe tip would be going over 5000 mph relative to earth, not including the speed because of the snap. I don't know if it would float gently, but it probably would burn up once it hit the atmosphere.
- 3rd3 12y agohttp://gassend.net/spaceelevator/breaks/ http://gassend.net/spaceelevator/breaks/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator_safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator_safety