Any limit on how fast a Maglev can go?

[jaketodd]

Ha. Ha. Ha.

You got is good. We thought you were asking a serious, albeit grossly uninformed question, and took it seriously. But apparently you were just funning with us. You got us good.

Not trying to fool anyone. I think it's self-explanatory that a lot of my posts in this thread are hypothetical at best. But they are fun. And technically, theoretically possible. So, let's continue to stick to physics, with a sense of humor at the same time. When I first started this thread, I posed some really good questions, I think. So, it's not all a joke.

 

[Vanadium 50]

 

[DaveC426913]

Do you even recognize that what you are proposing is nonsense?

Fantastical, yes. Nonsense? (OK, well, not any more than it started out in the OP.)

Skyhooks are cables that reach down from orbit and can nab or deposit payloads that are moving at a significantly different velocity. They do this by not being rigid or straight, and both ends are independently maneuverable to some extent. Of course, the window for connection is limited by that disparity in velocity.

Since we're already talking about technology levels that can accelerate a payload to relativistic velocities, and can be long enough to each the moon...

Presumably, a similar principle could be applied to the rail-train. Not the skyhook part, but having a cable system that is flexible enough to join endpoints with significant relative motion.

There are a number of places its Earth-end could be situated to facilitate this. The poles are an obvious one, but various orbital locations could work too.

 

[jedishrfu]

It seems we are a good point to close this thread having answered and explored the OPs original question,

Thank you all for commenting here.

Thread now closed.