In usual applications of high-strength cables such as lifts or
cranes, the mass of the cable itself brings a negligible contribution
to the total stress in the cable in comparison with the
mass of the load. The situation is changed when we start to
think about a vertical cable with a length of tens, hundreds, or
even thousands of kilometers. In these cases the stress caused
by the cable weight dominates and makes the contribution of
the load less significant or even negligible. This can be shown
in an easy calculation.