[ExI] Nanotubes in the news

[John Grigg]

I hope Japan really builds this space elevator!  They would seem to
have the technical skills and wealth to do it (and they are at least
not burdened with a huge military).  This would make the U.S. insecure
and so we would quickly follow suit with our own.  And then China
would of course steal the technology from us...

>From my friend- John T:
I stand corrected! The material strength needed is 180 times the strength
of steel... but all is not lost....

Japan has announced they plan to build a Space Elevator!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article4799369.ece

Quote from the wiki:
In 2008 the book "Leaving the Planet by Space Elevator", by Dr. Brad Edwards
and Philip Ragan, was published in Japanese and entered the Japanese best
seller list. This has led to a Japanese announcement of intent to build a
Space Elevator at a projected price tag of £5 billion. In a report by Leo
Lewis, Tokyo correspondent of The Times newspaper in England, plans by
Shuichi Ono, chairman of the Japan Space Elevator Association, are unveiled.
Lewis says: "Japan is increasingly confident that its sprawling academic and
industrial base can solve those [construction] issues, and has even put the
astonishingly low price tag of a trillion yen (£5 billion/ $8 billion) on
building the elevator. Japan is renowned as a global leader in the precision
engineering and high-quality material production without which the idea
could never be possible."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator
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