Comment Re:1500 feet not a mile (Score 1) 572
The strongest *individual* SWNT tested thusfar was just over 60GPa.
The real problem is that the strengths quoted for SWNTs exclude the area enclosed in the nanotube, while the densities used in the calculation include that area. You can't get close to 60GPa in real stress in a nanotube, where you mean the force divided by actual area of nanotube. Of course, what matters for space elevators is really the force per unit mass....
