this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2024
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The only way to make this crane system work reliably would be to enclose it entirely to protect it from wind, and/or build a huge frame around it to keep the blocks sufficiently aligned..... making it a much larger undertaking than just a crane with a bunch of blocks around it.
"Underground" is mentioned in the text above. I know that some people are considering to store heavy blocks connected to ropes in the shafts (?) of old coal mines that go down hundreds of meter. Use a single, very heavy block and you're good to go. Though I don't think that it holds a significant amount of energy (too lazy to calculate and no feeling for the possible dimensions of such a block). Also, digging new shafts should be prohibitively expensive for energy storage.
Ah yeah I missed that underground part, I mixed it up with another proposal for a freestand crane doing the same....
Putting the blocks onto some internal rail is probably the easiest way, with wheels in constant contact, similar to an elevator.