this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2026
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Engineering
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i remember doing a bit of math around space elevators a year ago and figuring out that if you make a cable hang from outer space to Earth, then the tensile strength is not strong enough to carry the weight of the cable itself. if you use any materials available today such as steel or carbon nanotubes. how would magnets change this?
Well we already can do directional sound, perhaps we can find a way to do focused directional magnetic fields, and then lift things into space without using cables? Obviously, I know it's entirely different mechanisms. Even using this to make electric motors way more powerful or something could be an application.
directed magnets are physically impossible
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biot%E2%80%93Savart_law
Off subject but they found dangling a long cable into the atmosphere from low orbit or whatever they could generate a lot of electricity, the cable broke off after a while though when they tried it.