# Thoth Technology patents 12-mile-high inflatable space elevator **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 17, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097 "2015-08-17T18:11:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/1 "2015-08-17T18:11:56Z")
[http://thothx.com/news-2/](http://thothx.com/news-2/) > [@](#): > > July 21, 2015 (Toronto, Ont.) –Canadian space company, Thoth Technology Inc., has been granted the United States patent for a space elevator. Announced today in the USPTO’s Official Gazette, the freestanding space tower is pneumatically pressurized and actively-guided over its base. Reaching 20 km above the planet, it would stand more than 20 times the height of current tall structures and be used for wind-energy generation, communications and tourism. > > The technology offers an exciting new way to access space using completely reusable hardware and saving more than 30% of the fuel of a conventional rocket. > > “Astronauts would ascend to 20 km by electrical elevator. From the top of the tower, space planes will launch in a single stage to orbit, returning to the top of the tower for refueling and reflight,” said Dr. Brendan Quine, the inventor. [Link to Patent](http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=09085897&IDKey=A820C67752BA&HomeUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526d%3DPALL%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%25252Fnetahtml%25252FPTO%25252Fsrchnum.htm%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526s1%3D9085897.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F9085897%2526RS%3DPN%2F9085897) It’s described as being 20 km high, inflatable, containing an elevator, and being kept upright by “stabilization devices”. Feasible? Pipe dream? Investment scam? ETA: Telegraph article: [Inflatable ‘space elevator’ invented by scientists](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11805987/Inflatable-space-elevator-invented-by-scientists.html) ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/2 "2015-08-17T18:23:55Z")
I would imagine nothing would be better than to try and launch something while swaying back and forth 20km above the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/3 "2015-08-17T18:26:48Z")
> [@](#): > > returning to the top of the tower for refueling and reflight,” said Dr. Brendan Quine, the inventor. Better make sure you stick the landing. I see they also sell ruggedized Beavers. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/4 "2015-08-17T18:27:23Z")
Presumably it would be stabilized so as not to sway, but it really doesn’t sound feasible to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/5 "2015-08-17T18:34:45Z")
I somehow doubt the credentials of a company that uses Google Sketchup to make a 3rd grade level rendering of their vision for the future of space travel. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/6 "2015-08-17T18:37:06Z")
20km is space? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/7 "2015-08-17T18:41:09Z")
I think their theory is that 20 km is high enough to cold-launch a space plane with a catapult, then it lights up the main rocket once it’s clear and can reach LEO. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/8 "2015-08-17T21:23:57Z")
Intuitively, it seems to make a mockery out of everything we know about material sciences. How do you keep a 12 mile high structure rigid, especially one that’s inflatable? How do you keep it from behaving like one of those inflatable tubes they put in front of car dealerships? The temperature is at the top is going to be something like -60 centigrade. Materials get brittle at those temperatures, so whatever exotic substance they’re building this out of will have to be pretty amazing. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/9 "2015-08-17T21:25:37Z")
Only 22,224 miles to go! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/10 "2015-08-17T21:59:59Z")
Right now the [largest elevator in the world](http://www.zdnet.com/article/mitsubishi-installs-worlds-largest-elevator-in-japan-80-passengers-per-car/) has a capacity of 80 passengers or 11,574 lbs. The Space Shuttles, widely mocked as cargo haulers, had a capacity of [55,100 lbs.](http://www.braeunig.us/space/specs/orbiter.htm) Even if the designers get past the problem of the column collapsing under its own weight, how much will the elevator be able to lift without making the entire structure unstable? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/11 "2015-08-17T22:26:02Z")
Wouldn’t the atmosphere at 12 miles high be a trifle thin for inflating purposes ? Just guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/12 "2015-08-17T22:28:39Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I see they also sell ruggedized Beavers. Highly regarded in lumber camps, _pour l’amour_. Sorry, thinking of something different. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/13 "2015-08-17T22:37:34Z")
_Sniffs_ I smell patent trolls. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/14 "2015-08-17T22:43:19Z")
Sounds perfectly reasonable except for the last 65,000 feet. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/15 "2015-08-18T02:19:37Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Better make sure you stick the landing. > > I see they also sell ruggedized Beavers. Ruggedized _Moon_ beavers. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/16 "2015-08-18T02:28:29Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > _Sniffs_ I smell patent trolls. They’re going to try to enforce the patent against someone with a _real_ space elevator? Maybe I should patent the flux capacitor and then sue all of those time machine manufacturers. I’m probably misunderstanding your point. I do agree that there must be some reason for the patent other than any actual plans to build the thing. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/17 "2015-08-18T02:36:34Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’m probably misunderstanding your point. I do agree that there must be some reason for the patent other than any actual plans to build the thing. They have a patent. Nobody else can make a 12 mile high inflatable airport. That doesn’t seem to be worth much but it may be used to try and raise money for research which could lead to more related patents until they get one that’s got some value. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/18 "2015-08-18T02:58:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They have a patent. Nobody else can make a 12 mile high inflatable airport. That doesn’t seem to be worth much but it may be used to try and raise money for research which could lead to more related patents until they get one that’s got some value. Raising money for something you don’t intend to build? Isn’t that called fraud? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/19 "2015-08-18T03:13:40Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Raising money for something you don’t intend to build? Isn’t that called fraud? I said for research. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097/20 "2015-08-18T03:56:43Z")
How does that work? You claim that you can build something that you can’t and then use that claim to obtain research money? That sounds fishy to me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoth-technology-patents-12-mile-high-inflatable-space-elevator/728097.md?page=2)