Two Day Magazine

Taking Your Love to New Heights...1,765,389th Floor, Please!

• Info
• website

In this time of endless holidays, it is hard to come up with an idea that hasn’t been subjected to endless simulacra.  There was a time when proposing to your girlfriend on a scoreboard was considered a cute idea, now it could be thrown into the category of cliché.  As with many things that come from the space division, there might be some new technology that could potentially change our Valentine’s Day plans, as well as future marriage proposals.  So, as stated in one of the most incorrectly quoted lines of Star Trek, “Beam me up, Scotty!”
           
The idea of a space elevator has been introduced in science fiction novels, and as Jodie Foster told us in Contact, science fiction becomes science fact.  The space elevator would be built in geostationary orbit around the earth by being connected to a ribbon that would extend all the way from ground level to tens of thousands kilometers into space. 

There are a number of purposes that are being proposed for the elevator, ranging from nuclear waste disposal, to placement of solar panels around the earth that would supply energy.  It could eventually evolve to be a tourist attraction used to generate money for expensive space missions.  While many agree that the implications could be great, where some scientists disagree is how the elevator could be built.     
           
One promising thought is that a ribbon can be formed from carbon nanotubes arranged into a ribbon like form.  The nanotubes are thought to have the potential to be more than 100 times stronger than steel.  While carbon nanotubes have been created in laboratories, the longest ones have only been a few centimeters in length, a far cry from the near 100,000 km that would be needed. 

Despite this seemingly insurmountable obstacle, Japanese scientists are hopeful that they will be able to manufacture nanotubes of sizeable length by 2030. More conservative scientists are thinking that it might not be until late in our lifetimes.
           
While the space elevator could be the first viable option to have ordinary people experience space, I wouldn’t hold off proposing to that significant other until it is completed.  I would, however, suggest to start saving up, because the price of an early trip on the elevator is surely to cost a small fortune. 

So, get your reservations in early because if it is hard to book a table late on Valentine’s Day, it will be near impossible to book the space elevator!