Here’s How Long You’d Survive on a Skyscraper That Hangs Off an Asteroid – Futurism

Posted: March 31, 2017 at 6:30 am

In BriefThe Analemma is a futuristic concept for the world's tallestskyscraper, which would hang from an orbiting asteroid, designed byClouds Architecture Office. While its design is impressive, theAnalemma may prove to be impractical, and (definitely) fatal. A Literal Skyscraper

To go where no man has gone before is a motto that resonates at the heart of manyfuturists and Trekkies (or Trekkers). The sentimentcertainly seems to be the idea behind a design for an out-of-this-world building concept that brings out the literal meaning of skyscraper.

From the minds atClouds Architecture Office, the Analemma Tower is designed to be the future of structural form. Suspended from an orbiting asteroid via super-strong cables, the Analemma rises or falls down, depending on your perspective more than 32,000 meters (104,987 feet) high.

Analemma inverts the traditional diagram of an earth-based foundation, instead depending on a space-based supporting foundation from which the tower is suspended, according to Clouds Architecture. This system, they say, is referred to as the Universal Orbital Support System (UOSS).

The building would be powered by space-based solar panels and be divided into nine sections. The top three levels, closer to its asteroid-base, are the funerary, reliquary, and worship sections. The very bottom, the part the scrapes the Earths sky, is an entertainment area where guests and residents can shop and dine. Above that is a business and commercial section, while a huge section of the tower is residential.

The Analemma would follow a geosynchronous orbit matches Earths sidereal rotation period of one day, according to Clouds Architecture. The towers position in the sky traces out a path in a figure-8 form, returning the tower to exactly the same position in the sky each day.

Theres just one problem: You would absolutely die on this skyscraper. Also, we arent good enough at physics to make this work.okay, so two problems.

An orbiting building thatpeople can parachute from seems like a good idea, and it isuntil it isnt. Not only would its absurd location demand incredibly high prices prices that are unprecedented in the history of real estate the very concept itself raises a number of concerns.

First, theres no air, so youd probably asphyxiate. Second, its not really clear how gravity would work on this. Theoretically, the asteroid would be big enough to keep you tethered to the rock (and inside the skyscraper), but given that the skyscraper is so close to Earth, its not looking good.

Never mind the absurd precisionneeded to get an asteroid to follow an artificial orbit this close to our own planet, what about making sure that the asteroid survives and doesnt hit other space objects? Space debris, anyone?

Theres just too much uncertainty (and, you know, physics) that keeps the Analemma from being a good idea for future citiesand future worlds. Fortunately! Clouds Architecture isnt the only one with ideas for whatthe cities of the future will look like. There are a number of viable options, such as cities floating on water and concepts for colonies on Mars. Then theres also plans for colonies on the Moon, including the ESAs Moon Village.As for skyscraper ideas, Dubais 3D-printed buildingsare a bitmore probable than the Analemma.

In any case, its fun to imagine how the future will look.While we may not put our money on the the Analemma Tower, it may well inspire some ideas that are worth investing in.

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Here's How Long You'd Survive on a Skyscraper That Hangs Off an Asteroid - Futurism

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