bah just realised my idea is totally flawed because the earth changes its tilt of its axis every year and that would probably not work. Also the train would go round way too fast because of the earths rotation. Well it was flawed anyway but i thought i might as well post it, maybe it has some entertainment value for being so crazy.

Not to mention that a train in constant motion would be really hard to load & unload. . .

Dude where did you get those crazy drugs?

Don't be discouraged - there's actually an idea that is similar. I read it off of a column in NewsOftheWeird.com. It was something about a three inch tether ribbon that was to be used for sending items into outer space. Don't know the exact idea behind it, but it sounds like they have a long ribbon/cord thing going, too.

Maybe something along the lines of the old railroad pick systems might work. Instead of being on the ground, items are placed on a hook and grabbed from above, even while moving. Similarly, they can be dispensed with by parachuting.

Not a solution, per se, but I'm trying to contribute rather than criticize.

Sure but surely we need to first build a building that actually touches the sky or at least a few miles higher. The elasticity of the cable from space would need to be very small and why take the electricty to the moon?

I think that your solving a problem that doesn't need solving as there isn't a moonbase there or a need for one. What would the speed of the cable be through the atmosphere surely it would be very fast and the truck on the ground? I wouldn't do that i would build on the ground first. Say a highspeed maglev and get the energy from the moon as the generator.

Wouldn't the cable - earth the Earth! LOL

Since the moon isn't actually "circling around" the globe but rather constantly falling with a lateral velocity component that balances the distance between earth and the moon, your idea would simply make the moon come crashing down on us.

This idea of Phils may be a bit far fetched, but it could be the starting point of an achievable possibility?.Anyway it gets my vote for originality of thought,because here`s a guy who is perfectly capable of thinking outside of the "Square parameters" which are so much in voque in academic teaching institutions around the world.My motto in this respect is: "Teach don`t Preach".

Thanks for the positive feedback. Look at this!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4870556.stm

Some scientists are thinking about using cables to transport items to and from the moon. The energy needed to do this would come from the power of the moon and earths orbits. The scientists have been awarded 10 000 euros just to look at the feasibility of this.

Crazy, impossible, but I like it.

For a start the moon passes over the earth once every 24 hours-ish, not 28 days. Haven't you ever watched the the moon?
So the train would be going round at about 1600 Km/Hr, i.e. supersonic.

You would need a cable with a strength to weight ratio squillions of times better than we can make at present. The cable would have to be at a tangent to the earth, pulling the train forwards.

Another idea well known in science fiction is to connect a cable to a geostionary satellite. A lot shorter, only needs a cable with a strength to weight ratio "a few zeroes on the end" more than we can make at present. And you get a fixed mooring point. You then have a capsule going up and down the cable. This idea is so well known they even had it in Star Trek once.

Then you put the electric cable down this connection, and use solar panels on the geostationary satellite to supply power to earth.

it would have to be a chain of ridiculous strength to hold onto the moon without snapping

Alright, let's me start by saying that this idea is not as crazy as it sounds but it could never be used for efficient energy production. First the weight of a cable that could extend to the moon would be too heavy to launch into space and too weak to support its own weight. Even carbon fibers couldn't do what you want. What they can do is be launched in stages to the geosynchronous altitude and create a high altitude space station for low power launches into space. Geosynchronous altitude is the altitude where a masses weight is 0. This is significantly shorter than the distance to the moon. This would create a space cable that could launch pretty much anything into space.

If you want to harness the power of the Moon, it seems to me you should be looking at the tide and the waves in the ocean. If there's something similar to perpetual motion on earth, that's it.

This is a crazy idea. If you use the moon to power something huge on earth like your train, that would slowly take away form the power that keeping the moon up in orbit and if the moon slowed down I think you can then calculate the time and date of when the moon would hit the earth ,( Sinus: have explained this better than me scientifically) I think a scientist would give us this date if someone give him the amount of power taken away form the moon.

Actually, it wouldn't slow the Moon at all, it would speed it up! The Earth rotates the same direction as the Moon revolves. Being that the Earth rotates faster than the Moon revolves, the Moon would actually be dragging the train "backwards" relative to the Earth's spin. The train would thus be pulling the Moon "forward" relative to its orbit.

As it is, the gravitational pull of the Moon on the Earth creates tides which also pull the Moon forward. As a result, the Moon's orbit rises a few inches every year. I doubt that the hypothetical train would increase the rate of the Moon's rise enough to be a concern. Of course the whole concept is unworkable anyway for reasons already mentioned.