[sciencegirl]

Imagine if you had one pole 100 meters high and 10 miles away you had a pole 15 meters high. Then you have a cable that connects to both poles. You could attach a cabin on the cable and gravity would move you 10 miles to the 15 meter pole. You wouldn't burn any fuel. Does anyone have any other idea's for peak oil transportation ?

[emersonbiggins]

Are you serious? What about the energy expended to scale the poles, much less build them?

It'd work great if all you ever wanted to go was downhill.

[Niagara]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sciencegirl', 'I')magine if you had one pole 100 meters high and 10 miles away you had a pole 15 meters high. Then you have a cable that connects to both poles. You could attach a cabin on the cable and gravity would move you 10 miles to the 15 meter pole. You wouldn't burn any fuel. Does anyone have any other idea's for peak oil transportation ?

[sciencegirl]

You take the stairs, and the cost for the poles is a one time charge, but the cable would have to be replaced once a year for saftey reasons. Then you have a reverse gondela for the trip back.

The only difficult part is hoisting up the gondela for the return trip, but I am sure a pulley system would make it much easier.

As for what I would charge, maybe 1/2 of what bus fare is.

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sciencegirl', 'Y')ou take the stairs, and the cost for the poles is a one time charge, but the cable would have to be replaced once a year for saftey reasons. Then you have a reverse gondela for the trip back.

The only difficult part is hoisting up the gondela for the return trip, but I am sure a pulley system would make it much easier.

As for what I would charge, maybe 1/2 of what bus fare is.

[sciencegirl]

In a peak oil world, lardasses would not exist for very long anyways.

I wonder though....If you were to put wings on the gondela if it would reduce the stress put on the cable.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sciencegirl', 'I')magine if you had one pole 100 meters high and 10 miles away you had a pole 15 meters high.

[sciencegirl]

You just need a few more poles for support, that would increase the cable tension.

WHY ask how old I am. Are you trying to say I am being stupid. If it wasn't for idea's we would still be living in the stone age. People thought the lightbulb was stupid, or the train was stupid.

At least I am trying to create solutions.

[emersonbiggins]

Thanks, but I'll just drive.

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sciencegirl', 'Y')ou just need a few more poles for support, that would increase the cable tension.

WHY ask how old I am. Are you trying to say I am being stupid. If it wasn't for idea's we would still be living in the stone age. People thought the lightbulb was stupid, or the train was stupid.

At least I am trying to create solutions.

[sciencegirl]

Okay so you'd rather walk 10 miles rather than climb 100 meters of stairs, my your intelligent. Hope you packed a water bottle with you. You'll need it.

[doomed]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')f it wasn't for idea's we would still be living in the stone age

[Pops]

I guess the point is there is no free lunch.

You will expend more energy overcoming gravity climbing the stairs, friction in the mechanism and wind resistance than you would in simply walking.

Surprising though it may seem, a million years of evolution has created a very efficient mode of transportation without our intervention.

[clueless]

Doesn't this fall into the category of "perpetual motion theory", it is impossible to get more energy out of an action than is put into it ?

Is she trolling Pops ?

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('clueless', 'I')s she trolling...?

[mgibbons19]

I thought gravity transportation was falling off of something. Ouch.

As others are pointing out, the energy saved going down would be less than expended going up. Think hiking up to the top of the mountain to ski down. fun. but not efficient.

edited for: doh!

[Spartan2]

Isn't this the same thing as cable cars?

[sciencegirl]

It's like cable cars with an engine. My point with 2 poles is that even if one pole was only a few meters higher than the other pole, you can probably even seperate them 100 kilometers, you can travel by gravity, you would build up more and more acceleration as you travelled. Assuming that you had a few additional poles for support.

[sciencegirl]

like cable cars without an engine...sorry, my bad. I should have proof read

[clueless]

How about changing your name to ScienceFICTIONgirl ?