In reply to Robin van Spaandonk's message of Thu, 14 Apr 2005 08:23:14 +1000: Hi, [snip] >Because any cable needs to be able to at least support it's own >weight, a maximum length can be calculated by dividing the tensile >strength of the material by the density. >For good steel I get 600000 lb/sq. in. divided by the density of >iron (7.87 gm/mL) = 176000 ft. At that length, any extra tension >(i.e. an addition "real" load), will break it. [snip] BTW for Kevlar 49, that's 18 million lb/sq. in. / 1.44 gm/mL = 28E6 ft = 5461 miles :). Still not good enough for a space elevator, but plenty strong enough for kite applications.
Regards, Robin van Spaandonk All SPAM goes in the trash unread.
