Anchor a tube on earth and slope it all the way into space

[fileerror404]

All right, I know I'll make an azz of myself with all the big brains around but I have to know. (My physics knowledge is at a high school level so please forgive my ignorance)

I we were to anchor a tube on Earth and slope it all the way into space, would anything happen? Has there been experiments? Theories?

Just my stoner brain I guess :)

Thanks guys!

 

[negitron]

The only thing that would happen is that you'd have a very long tube sticking out of the atmosphere. There would be no flow of air through the tube for the same reson that the atmosphere doesn't blow away into space: gravity. The pressure difference between the top and the bottom is exactly offset by the force of of gravity so the net flow is zero.

 

[ideasrule]

If you make the tube exactly the right length, you'll get a space elevator:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator

but without the elevator

 

[fileerror404]

Thanks a lot neg. Makes a lot of sense (even to me)

Great link, ideasr. Go nanotubes...want to see that elevator built in my lifetime.