Every now and then you hear something that has to be seen to be believed. And even then it is unbelievable... When Japanese scientists say that they will build a 96,000 kilometre elevator into space using nanotechnology making space rockets redundant you think okay, maybe this will work. Or, more likely, you will think how will it stay attached to the earth's surface? What if it is hit by a piece of space junk? How will it stay straight without getting tangled up in itself. As someone posted on a chart site, it would take a week to get there. Imagine being trapped in an elevator with 29 other people for a week? I guess it depends on what you mean by an elevator. Maybe it has cubicles and a bar and a restaurant... But if it is travelling at hundreds of kilometres to get the passengers to the station inside a week I guess comfort has to be sacrificed for speed. The Japanese have built and designed many amazing things in the post-war period from pocket transistors to the Sony Walkman, the video cassette recorder to instant noodles and the electric rice cooker, the blue ray disc and the compact disc, then there is the bullet train and the ninja robot. The list goes on.... The idea that we can catch an elevator into space, this one might outdo them all.
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