Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1exp 10/6/83; site ihuxr.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!microsoft!uw-beaver!cornell!vax135!ariel!houti!hogpc!houxm!ihnp4!ihuxr!lew
From: lew@ihuxr.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space,net.physics
Subject: Space elevator & Coriolis force
Message-ID: <727@ihuxr.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 25-Oct-83 18:26:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxr.727
Posted: Tue Oct 25 18:26:02 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 27-Oct-83 03:06:33 EDT
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il
Lines: 16

The Coriolis force presents a serious problem to the space elevator.
In the geostationary reference frame, an object (e.g. elevator car)
moving at speed v in the radial direction will experience the apparent
Coriolis force, with magnitude 2*m*v*w in a westerly direction. Intuitively,
as the car is hauled upwards it will tend to lag behind the faster moving
geostationary points above it. With v=100 m/sec, the Coriolis acceleration
is .014 m/sec2. This brings up some relatively complicated questions
about the tension required to keep the lateral displacement in hand, but
I see big problems here. Remember that if the elevator goes all the way to
the Geostationary point, it must aquire a large orbital velocity. This
is supplied by the reaction force to the Coriolis force.

I read Clark's book on this some time ago, but I don't recall his having
mentioned the Coriolis force.

	Lew Mammel, Jr. ihnp4!ihuxr!lew