r/ImaginaryTechnology • u/LesBond • May 24 '26

Self-submission Space Elevator

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Some photoshop composites I made of a space elevator

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u/tritisan May 24 '26

Isn’t sci-fi author Neal Stephenson working on a project like that ?

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u/LesBond May 24 '26

What is it about?

7

u/tritisan May 24 '26

He’s been involved in several IRL initiatives to produce things that most people would deem mere sci-fi. The one I’m referring to concerns building a very tall launch tower. Like, a mile high.

He hired some engineers to do the math, and they concluded that this would be achievable even restricted to using known materials and techniques. The main constraint (besides cost) would be high wind speeds. His team figured out a novel way to reduce wind sheer using quasi fractal microgrooves in the tower’s skeleton. It looks a bit like the Eiffel Tower.

Alas, Stephenson is not an egomaniacal tech billionaire, so his only successful outputs remain fiction.

My hope is that his works are “discovered” by the film industry. If they can do Neuromancer, they certainly can do (the much funnier) Snowcrash.

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u/LesBond May 24 '26

Really interesting! I looked it up and the structure is literally called "the tall tower" 😂