Research · Physics
Elevatron
A fully-cited concept study: could a magnetically-pinched, laser-coupled beam act as both conductor and structure for reaching space? The honest answer is no — but the physics underneath is real.
Diagram
What it is
Elevatron started as a conversation-level idea and became an experiment in honest citation: every load-bearing claim is tied to a real source, and every place where the popular framing outruns the physics is flagged.
What I built
- Eight chapters from abstract to conclusions, with derivations of the Bennett relation, Z-pinch behaviour and MHD instabilities.
- A feasibility analysis — energy budget, instability growth, atmospheric breakdown — with a clear verdict.
- A graduate-style lab chapter of safe, low-cost benchtop demonstrations of the real physics.
- A BibTeX bibliography and an annotated reading list.